Given the shortage of personnel in the fitness industry, instructors are increasingly seeking to work with private clients

With the fitness industry’s growing talent shortage, instructors are increasingly looking to work independently. The number of advertisements about their services increased by 50–80% over the year, exceeding the dynamics of demand. The process is stimulated by the lack of a clear career track, the desire of clubs to work with the self-employed, and the increase in training costs by 10–30%.

The number of advertisements for the services of fitness trainers in Russia over the year increased by 52%, yoga instructors – by 81%, according to Avito Services. The demand for such specialists during this period increased by 28% and 43%, respectively, which led to increased competition for clients. According to Avito Services, there are 2.1 clients per advertisement for a yoga instructor, and 2.7 clients for a fitness trainer, which is 22.2% and 15.6% less, respectively, than a year earlier.

In conditions of personnel shortages, sports industry specialists are more likely to rely on working with private clients, Avito Services points out. According to hh.ru, the number of vacancies in sports clubs and beauty salons in January-March was on average 6–9% higher than a year earlier, the number of resumes was 2–4% lower. The head of FitnessData, Maxim Borovikov, believes that the number of trainers’ resumes is now at the same level as last year, and there are 30% more vacancies. This year, more than 120 clubs and 400–500 studios will be opened; another 6–8 thousand people will be needed to work, the expert points out. According to him, this may indicate a deterioration in the situation with personnel, since the enrollment of students in specialized educational institutions is not growing. According to a FitnessData survey, 25–27% of trainers are already trying to work independently, 40–50% would like to.

President of the Association of Fitness Industry Operators Olga Kiseleva says that now there is one resume for every vacancy: “In fact, we take every first one.” In 2019, 768 thousand specialists were employed in the physical culture and health industry, and in 2023 – 465 thousand people, says the head of the National Fitness Community, Elena Silina. Olga Kiseleva connects the outflow with the demographic decline, geopolitics and the consequences of the pandemic. In 2020, some specialists changed their profession, she recalls. It was then that coaches, according to XFIT CEO Irina Tumanova, began to actively quit clubs, finding direct contacts with clients more profitable.

Maxim Borovikov notes that the fitness market does not keep up with the pace of salary increases in other industries. The labor intensity of the work is high, there is basically no career path, and the prestige of the profession remains unobvious, he points out. Ms. Silina says that a fitness trainer in the regions now earns an average of 70 thousand rubles, in Moscow and St. Petersburg – about 100 thousand rubles. per month. The average monthly real salary in Russia in January, according to Rosstat, was 75 thousand rubles. The Ministry of Labor estimated the indicators of Moscow and St. Petersburg at the end of 2023 at 136 thousand rubles. and 95 thousand rubles. per month accordingly.

Olga Kiseleva explains that previously trainers worked in clubs mainly under employment contracts, but now, due to a change in the business model, fitness centers are trying to switch to outsourcing. According to her, instructors cooperate with the centers under a service or rental agreement as self-employed or individual entrepreneurs. “In the case of a lease, the coach receives everything he earned, but pays the club 30-60 thousand rubles. per month in Moscow and 10–40 thousand rubles. in the regions,” says Mr. Borovikov. Employees on staff, he said, receive a salary and 45-50% from personal training.

According to Olga Kiseleva, an increase in salaries increases overall costs, since coaches on staff account for 50% of total costs. The staff shortage, according to the expert, encourages clubs to more actively develop automated formats, but not all clients are ready to engage in them yet. Mr. Borovikov adds that the availability of personal training for people with low incomes will continue to decline. According to FitnessData estimates, the average cost of a lesson with a trainer over the year has increased by 10–30%, to 2.8 thousand rubles. in Moscow and 1.5 thousand rubles. in the regions, and the potential for price growth remains.

Alexandra Mertsalova