Often these to words are used interchangeably and the difference is largely semantical. Broadly speaking, wellness is largely concerned with the active pursuit of being healthy or well, especially in a physical sense, but not exclusively. Many of the classic activities that people perform in the pursuit of being health, like mindfulness, meditation, massage, or other strategies for relieving stress are often referred to wellness activities. Wellness is a state of overall health and is an important dimension of wellbeing.

Wellbeing is a much broader and more holistic dimension of living well and includes physical, mental, emotional, financial, social and occupational dimensions. Human beings are multi-dimensional and wellbeing is about creating balance between each of these dimensions so that people can thrive. Consider an individual who is lonely, or who has high-levels of stress relating to their work or finances. These pressures spill over into other dimensions of life (e.g., physical health, relationships with others), adversely affecting that person’s wellbeing.  Wellbeing is a holistic appraisal of every facet of our lives to determine what brings us joy, peace and even meaning. The concept of wellbeing extends to our physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, occupational, environmental and intellectual states.

In recent years, the health and fitness industry has pivoted from a purely exercise and nutrition-focused sector, to more of a health-promotion and disease-prevention industry. As a consequence, the gap between healthcare providers (e.g. NHS, Nuffield Health, BUPA) and the fitness industry have closed considerably. While the wellbeing sector is still in its infancy, there are no shortages of opportunities for skilled health and wellbeing coaches. Whether it’s working in exercise referral, weight management, providing mental health support, smoking cessation services, coaching behaviour change, or working for the NHS as a health Coach, there are so many different avenues that can be pursued with the right passion, attitude and of course, qualifications. 

Many companies and organisations, large and small are now looking also to put on training, support and coaching for their staff, to reduce absenteeism, increase productivity, and/or raise levels of health and wellbeing amongst staff. 

In recent years, employers are starting to invest in the health and wellbeing of their workforce because they recognise that the more they take care of their teams, the more loyalty, productivity and team spirit this fosters in the workforce. Employers also report a reduction in absenteeism and sickness levels. Supporting staff to lead healthier lifestyles, whether that be through diet, exercise, or health education programmes can lead to positive outcomes for the staff and the business. And this is backed by evidence!

Corporate wellbeing is essentially where a trained wellbeing practitioner works alongside an employer to deliver individual and team coaching sessions to employees to help them with different aspects of their health, either through exercise, nutrition, or other lifestyle interventions. It may be something as simple as providing posture workshops to staff, showing them how to take care of their workstation ergonomics, or delivering simple stretching sessions to energise the team and to help them take better care of their musculoskeletal health. r Pilates to staff that have

It is widely reported that a happy and health workforce leads to increase productivity, reduced absenteeism, greater cohesion, and lower attrition rates. Companies that invest in their workforce, and who provide both space and time for them to flourish, realise that the short-term cost of providing these benefits pays for itself in the medium-long-term.

Our Health and Wellbeing Coach qualification is accredited by a variety of organisations that are widely recognised for their high standards in the sector.

Many of our exercise, fitness and nutrition-related programmes are certificated through awarding organisations like YMCA Awards, Active IQ, and Transcend Awards. These programmes are also endorsed by CIMSPA.

Our Health and Wellbeing Practitioner programme is accredited by the Personalised Care Institute (PCI) and is mapped to the NHS standards for health Coaching. This ensures that people that want to work in and alongside more clinical services will be able to secure work in a health coaching role.

Accreditations do vary from one programme to the next, so please be sure to check before you enrol if this is important to you. Alternatively, feel free to get in touch with one of our Health and Wellbeing Career Coaches who will be more than happy to answer any questions that you have.

There are a number of fitness, leisure and wellbeing specific job sites that frequently advertise health and wellbeing practitioner roles.

The NHS and their many trusts located around the UK are perhaps the biggest employer of health and wellbeing practitioners, via their health coaching pathway. It’s worth noting that specific job titles will vary according to the NHS trust and the role required. Often, services are determined based on local need, so one region may need to focus on weight management and/or obesity and diabetes, whereas a other regions will have different health priorities (e.g., back pain, mental health, addiction).

There are a number of charitable organisations that also run health services on behalf of NHS trusts and local authorities and these also commonly employ health and wellbeing practitioners. Many of these organisations also run exercise referral type programmes also where multi-disciplinary teams seek to tackle health priorities and inequalities through exercise and lifestyle interventions.

As with most things in the modern world, a simple internet search for terms relating to  health, wellbeing, coaching, or practitioner jobs, is likely to be the best approach to take in the first instance.

Earning potential varies according to the employer and the services that the health and wellbeing practitioner is performing. Basic exercise referral-type instructors will typically start on a salary of £26,000-28,000 per annum, with increments according to additional qualifications being completed and skills being acquired.

In the NHS, Health Coaches can earn up to £40,000 per annum, and sometimes more depending on location and the specific duties being performed. There are also opportunities for promotion and progression into managerial and executive roles for those who are ambitious.

Those providing corporate wellbeing services to business perhaps earn the most in the health and wellbeing sector. To a certain extent, practitioners can charge what they want for their services if they can deliver. It’s worth underlining here though that most employers will want to measure the impact of any wellbeing services delivered. So, if the quality isn’t there, it’s unlikely these services will be renewed.

Finally, not all health and wellbeing practitioners are motivated by salary and this is a role that tends to attract people keen to make a difference. Contribution and helping people to become a better version of themselves is often a reason why people are drawn to health coaching and wellbeing services. It’s a role that provides immense job satisfaction and there aren’t many jobs where people can say that they make a significant difference to the lives of others.