TAFE NSW Orange fitness teacher Elissa Dove believes now is the ideal time to consider an exciting career in fitness as Australia and the Central West continues to battle an obesity epidemic.

According to the Australian Government Institute of Health and Welfare 2019 report, nearly two thirds (63 per cent) of all Australian adults are overweight or obese, while the Heart Foundation has revealed that 71 per cent of Orange residents are not physically active enough to maintain good health.

With the Australian Government Jobs Outlook website revealing fitness as a growth area with a predicted 21,000 new job openings across the country over the next five years, Ms Dove believes quality fitness industry workers are more important than ever.

“Overweight and obesity are major public health issues in Australia, associated with significant chronic diseases and a decrease in quality of life,” Ms Dove said.

“National data reveals that the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased from 56 per cent in 1996 to 63 per cent in 2019, and 68 per cent of adults in regional areas like Orange have a significantly higher prevalence of overweight or obesity issues compared to 61 per cent of adults in the city.

“While these are incredibly alarming statistics, what it does mean is there’s lots of rewarding career opportunities available in this industry, from fitness instructor, personal trainers to centre managers and everything in between.

“Some of the benefits of working in fitness include flexible working conditions, you get to meet lots of new people, you get a lot of satisfaction from helping people succeed, you get paid to work out and most importantly – it’s fun.”

Ms Dove said the first step to a career in fitness was obtaining at least a Certificate III in Fitness qualification, which teaches you how to instruct and support people of all ages, practice different forms of exercise, learn about human anatomy in relation to fitness, First Aid and how to ensure the safety of clients.

For more information about the range of fitness courses available at TAFE NSW for enrolment in Semester 2, visit www.tafensw.edu.au or phone 131 601.

Media contact: Luke Schuyler, TAFE NSW Media and Communications Business Partner, 0439 536 563.