Note: As a subsidiary of Te Pūkenga - New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology, UCOL | Te Pūkenga is committed to providing the best learning outcome for you. As part of this, all programmes are currently being reviewed to make them portable, consistent, and closely aligned with the needs of the industry. When published, this course information is correct, but the courses offered may change over time. If you have any questions call an Enrolment Advisor on 0800 468 265.

From 2023, UCOL | Te Pūkenga and the programme you have enrolled in will become part of Te Pūkenga. So, if you join UCOL | Te Pūkenga in 2023, you will be awarded Te Pūkenga certification. And, if you are a current learner graduating in 2023, you will be awarded a co-branded certificate.

This programme consists of 360 Credits. The courses include;

Year 1
Socio-cultural and Professional Practices (15 Credits)
Learn how to conduct yourself professionally in the workplace, gain essential health and safety skills, understand the implications of multiculturalism in Aotearoa/New Zealand's exercise industry, relate various models of health and the impact of modern-day society on health practices in New Zealand, and discover some of the career pathways available to you.

Physical Health and Wellness Fundamentals (15 Credits)
Gain foundational knowledge and skills to describe and assess health-related human function in adults. Your studies will cover acute responses and physiological adaptations to cardiovascular training, and health and fitness testing including basic anthropometric measurements, resting and exercise blood pressure, flexibility and single-stage cardiovascular fitness testing.

Strength and Conditioning Fundamentals (15 Credits)
Gain foundational knowledge and skills to explain and improve the physiological functions of the musculoskeletal system in individual clients. Your studies will cover gym training including isotonic and isoinertial exercises, as well as modification, regression and progression techniques. You'll also study the metabolic and fatigue resistance characteristics of the different muscle fibre types.

Sport and Coaching Science Fundamentals (15 Credits)
Learn the essential skill set required by sport and coaching professionals. Your studies will include the principles of motor control and movement accuracy, and preparing, organising and delivering coaching sessions.

Client Assessment and Programme Prescription (30 Credits) (30 Practicum Hours)
Gain the necessary knowledge and have the opportunity, within a supervised environment, to apply industry practices to design safe and effective training programmes for a variety of healthy individuals. You'll work with clients to establish training needs; keep accurate records of baseline data and referral decisions; conduct fitness assessments; analyse, interpret and communicate assessment results to clients; and construct and trial safe and effective customised physical fitness conditioning programmes.

Leading Client Exercise Interventions (30 Credits) (70 Practicum Hours)
Develop the skills required to implement personalised training to a variety of clients within a supervised environment. This includes demonstrating and teaching correct form; learning how to motivate clients; adapting customised exercise programmes with a range of structured and/or advanced exercise options; learning how to refer clients to a network of allied professionals, and reflecting on client interactions and interventions. Additionally, you'll learn how to apply basic business and marketing tools to assist you as a professional trainer.

Year 2
Strength and Conditioning Practices (30 Credits) (50 Practicum Hours)
Learn the practical skills to carry out appropriate performance-related physiological assessment and conditioning techniques used in the strength and conditioning industry. Your studies include analysing individual athletic requirements; reliably conducting valid tests to measure athletes' ability; designing, leading and critiquing structured training sessions for competitive athletes; discussing and selecting fatigue-management strategies to enhance athletic training and performance; and developing a basic periodised conditioning plan for competitive athletes.

Sport and Recreation Project Management Skills (15 Credits)
Learn how to research for and plan a simple project for a local community group in the sport, fitness, recreation, and health and wellness industry.

Small Business Skills (15 Credits)
Learn about small business strategic planning, resource alignment, marketing and financial practice in Aotearoa/ New Zealand in the context of physical activity interventions and/or project management. You'll identify the characteristics of small business models within the exercise industry, compare and evaluate the financial and legal obligations, and determine the financial viability of a proposed small business operation.

Physical Health and Wellness Practices (30 Credits) (50 Practicum Hours)
Learn clinical intervention strategies to address widespread health conditions (e.g. obesity). Your studies will include:

Body composition calculations
Haemodynamics within multi-stage predictive cardiovascular fitness tests
Exercise termination points
Clinical programme prescription and training implementation, monitoring and progress.
Research Skills for Exercise Professionals (15 Credits)
Learn essential research skills to become a consumer and reporter of research.

Sport and Group Coaching Practices (15 Credits) (20 Practicum Hours)
Gain experience in implementing a sport skills development community project, and develop practical skills required by sport and exercise professionals to manage common musculoskeletal injuries.

Year 3
In third year of your degree you'll advance your knowledge via your chosen major - Physical Health and Wellness, Strength and Conditioning or Sport and Recreation Management.

Physical Health and Wellness Major
Student taping a person's ankle
Advanced Physical Health and Wellness (30 Credits)
Gain advanced knowledge and skills for assessment and intervention strategies to manage a range of musculoskeletal conditions and prevalent diseases evident in modern-day lifestyles. Your studies will include:

Pathophysiology of common cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, and mental health conditions/disorders
Role of exercise in wellbeing
Health appraisal, ethics and patient confidentiality
Change behaviour strategies
Contra-indicators, symptom limits and the exercise guidelines for people with special considerations
Clinical exercise prescription
Corporate Wellness and physical conditioning in the workplace
Applied Professional Practice: Physical Health and Wellness (90 Credits) (360 Practicum Hours)
Immerse yourself in structured industry environments so that you can independently apply and develop your knowledge and practical skill set in delivering safe and effective clinical training programmes to clients. Your studies also include conducting a pilot research project and reporting on the effectiveness of your interventions on health-related parameters.

Strength and Conditioning Major
Student being helped with bench press weight lifting

Advanced Strength and Conditioning (30 Credits)
Learn how to conduct and apply advanced assessment and intervention techniques to competitive athletes. Your studies also include planning a testing session for a group of competitive athletes (including risk management) and the application of sports strapping.


Applied Professional Practice: Strength and Conditioning (90 Credits) (360 Practicum Hours)
Immerse yourself in structured industry environments so that you can independently apply and develop your knowledge and practical skill set in delivering structured training programmes to athletes. Your studies also include conducting a pilot research project and reporting on the effectiveness of your interventions on performance-related parameters.

Sport and Recreation Management Major
Students planning an event

Advanced Sport and Recreation Management (30 Credits)
Gain advanced knowledge to research for and plan community-based projects within the context of the Aotearoa/New Zealand sport, fitness, active recreation, and health and wellness industry. Your studies include understanding community needs, working with, and leading, volunteers and event/project management.

Applied Professional Practice: Sport and Recreation Management (90 Credits) (360 Practicum Hours)
Immerse yourself in structured environments where you can independently apply and develop your knowledge and practical skill-set in implementing effective community projects and be able to report the impact of physical activity participation. Your studies also include reviewing research findings/insights to inform community project variables, in-depth post-event evaluations and community communications.

Successful graduates of the UCOL | Te Pūkenga Bachelor of Applied Science (Exercise and Wellness) programmes will be able to plan and implement physical activity opportunities and services that lead to positive impacts on the health and physical conditioning of members within their communities.

Beyond being able to register as a personal trainer (with Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) accreditation), employment opportunities for Bachelor of Applied Science (with majors in Physical Health and Wellness, Strength and Conditioning and Sport and Recreation Management) graduates are diverse and, depending on the student’s chosen Major, could include:

Corporate wellness
Health promotion/education
Physical activity and dietary advisor
Physical health coordinator
Chronic disease intervention
Clinical exercise rehabilitation
Strength and conditioning coaching
Sports performance trainer
Sports coordinator
Active-recreation, sport event and project/event management
Secondary school or tertiary institution teaching
For some of these career options, further training and/or professional body registration may be required.
There are opportunities for further study at postgraduate or master level in the health, clinical exercise physiology, and sport sciences fields, or in teaching.

To find out more about possible job prospects and salaries for Sport and Fitness Professionals, see careers.govt.nz