Report: Personal Trainers Don’t Have the Business Skills Gyms Require

New data spotlights a “readiness gap”: personal trainers aren’t lacking for certifications, but they’re not getting the business coaching they need to thrive in a complex fitness industry

While a labor shortage has been top of mind for gym operators lately when it comes to finding personal trainers and instructors, the biggest barrier brands are facing lately might not just be finding enough talent, but finding trainers who are business-ready from day one.

This is according to the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA), whose new report has identified what it calls a “readiness gap.”

ISSA’s 2026 Fitness Hiring Report, a combination of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ISSA’s nationwide gym partner survey and insights from the inaugural ISSA Global Summit, found that fitness professionals aren’t lacking for credentials, but rather what the modern industry demands nowadays: technical competency, client-facing business acumen, behavioral intelligence and innovative retention strategies.

As the industry continues growing, U.S. fitness trainer employment has been projected to expand by 12% from 2024 to 2034, averaging roughly 74,200 domestic openings annually, ISSA found that gym operators across all industry segments are struggling to find candidates equipped to contribute to business operations from the outset.

“The fitness industry has reached an inflection point where growth is a constant, but immediate operational readiness remains a constraint,” said ISSA CEO Warren Heffelfinger. “Gym operators do not just need applicants; they need trusted, work-ready professionals who understand how to drive client retention, translate health data into behavior change and build sustainable revenue pipelines from their first day on the gym floor,” he added.

Major brands are pressed to find such talent. According to ISSA, Snap Fitness is seeking to add 4,000 trainers globally, and Anytime Fitness, reported a deficit of approximately 1,300 coaches across its 2,300 domestic locations.

Beyond a robust understanding of the business side of fitness, operators are also looking to tap into specialized expertise to cater to the expanding demographics getting serious about exercise, including training that caters to the 50+ population, also known as “active aging.”

ISSA is aiming to address the “readiness gap” head-on, scaling Career Connect, its proprietary workforce platform linking a network of over 49,000 ISSA-certified coaches directly with more than 23,000 hiring fitness facilities globally.

The certifying organization also launched a Fitness Business Bundle in late June this year to educate professionals with the explicit sales and retention knowledge increasingly requested by commercial gym partners.