HFE Avis 1 980

Very poor support – impossible to get help

I’m currently completing the ETM Level 2 course with HFE, and unfortunately my experience has been extremely frustrating.

The course I am doing is entirely online, which already makes it quite isolating, but the real issue is the complete lack of support. I have tried multiple times to contact someone, the phone just rings out and I’ve had no response to messages. My assigned tutor, Danielle Sharrock, has also been unreachable.

At this stage, I’ve submitted my lesson plan but realised there are errors I need to correct and I have no way of getting guidance on how to amend or resubmit. I’m now preparing for the practical assessment video, but without any feedback or reassurance, it feels like I’m working completely in the dark.

Having read other reviews, I’m genuinely concerned about inconsistent marking, changing requirements, or being asked to pay more, which only adds to the stress.

An online course like this needs accessible tutor support, especially for learners who don’t come from a strength training background (I am a former dancer). At the moment, it feels like you’re left entirely on your own once you’ve paid.

I would strongly encourage HFE to improve their communication and provide clearer, more responsive support for students.

A fantastic, interesting and enjoyable course with great levels of help, support and guidance from staff, throughout, I highly recommend HFE. I will certainly be using them again!

It took me a long time to choose a Pilates training provider that would be the right fit for me. After extensive research ( many months ) I chose HFE. I’m so glad I did. I have previous qualifications in other fitness disciplines and wanted to train to a gold standard.
Pilates is a lifestyle discipline and can be used for prevention of injury, rehabilitation as well as all the other benefits an active mindful practice brings, so it’s important to me that training wasn’t just performative or simply a tick in a box, but had the depth, experience and professionalism that the practice and principles require to teach for longevity.
HFE fitted the bill . The ease of accessing the materials is great . The online platform is really fit for purpose.
The training and staff are excellent as well as all the office team that support HFE teachers and their learners. They are on hand at every opportunity. The teachers are great representatives of the industry. My main leader was Dawn Rafferty who has incredible knowledge and a few decades of real industry experience which is invaluable. Dawn also has a passion to share and improve, which makes a great teacher. We were also trained by Karen , again another great teacher, with a longstanding career in health and fitness and my final assessment was with Eleana, who again is a ex-professional athlete so has trained to the highest standard and is passionate about Pilates as a lifestyle, as well as being lovely and again very knowledgeable. Working with teacher trainers that want you to succeed but keep standards at the top of the game is everything and HFE deliver . I also met a great group of girls and we’ve all kept in touch . Thoroughly recommend. 💯

Amazing! Thanks you Hfe for my meanipoase and pre post natal course - these courses have opened my eyes to how pt need to coach and be better.thanks

I was looking to get my level 3 done online as quick as possible. HFE online content and materials are more than sufficient to learn everything you need to know. Their team is super friendly and helpful throughout your journey. Lorna Malcolm's videos are so enjoyable to watch because she just brings the knowledge in a fun and helpful way. Didn't expect to laugh a few times during learning all this.

Highly recommend

An amazing experience from start to finish - I’m so happy to have chosen to train as a yoga instructor with HFE, alongside some genuinely great people. A special thank you to Molly, Caz & Dawn for some top support & tutoring too!

The course was really informative, well structured and provided amazing first hand support from staff and tutors alike. Due to the digital nature of the course, it was also amazing for making my way through the content at my own pace.

Choosing a fitness training provider isn’t easy, but HFE came highly recommended and I can see why. From my first interaction with Arron through to assessment and certification, I felt supported throughout my journey.

I chose the virtual study option, which provides clear and well structured videos and easy to follow course material. Although I realised that I personally enjoy more in person teaching for the social interaction, real time instructions and added commitment, the flexibility of this option was still a big plus.

A special mention goes to Danielle, who was fantastic throughout. I genuinely looked forward to our calls. She brought great energy, motivation, and support, even remotely. Her experience and advice were truly appreciated and made a real difference!

One of my biggest takeaways is that becoming an instructor is also about being proactive, stepping out of your comfort zone, reaching out, asking questions, and making the most of the support available.

Learning, training, developing knowledge and gaining experience are all qualities you inherit through a course with HFE. The support tutors and assessors are thorough and patient and they share their genuine praise of your successes along the way. You feel very supported 24/7.

Anyone wishing to develop their knowledge and skills in the fitness sector, I would highly recommend HFE. They have the expertise and flexibility that gave me the opportunity to refresh my gym instructing knowledge and attain my ultimate goal of becoming a qualified personal trainer.
Mark

The course and content was super fun and accessible! Really enjoyed the learning and thought everything was great all in all! Thank you Dani for being super helpful with everything :)

As an ex professional ballet dancer and someone that is very involved in daily fitness, I wanted a formal qualification to mix the two and start a business offering step aerobic classes, and made the TERRIBLE mistake of booking a course with this company.
At first, I was very excited with the course but quickly realised that despite being assigned a so called ‘tutor’ Danielle Sharrock, not much ‘tutoring' was done.
Despite receiving the learning documentation, when the time came to do the practical part of the study, the 'tutor' totally misinformed me as to final exam criteria. On top of that, I had to chase my ‘tutor’ for any feedback or help and wait for days and weeks sometimes.
When it was time for the final exam, which consisted of a step aerobics video, new criteria kept popping up out of nowhere which was never discussed or mentioned in any of the material or by the tutor until the video was submitted.
This meant that the videos had to be re-filmed multiple times (additional time, cost etc) and thats when the penny dropped and they started asking for additional fees in order to upload the new videos, as none of the videos are fulfilled enough…
Based on the previous reviews, this seems like a tactic they use to SQUEEZE MORE MONEY out of their customers rather than offer professional support.
They WASTED my TIME & MONEY and completely DESTROYED my motivation.
My advice to ANYONE looking to do this course is, DON’T BELIEVE the positive reviews and LOOK ELSEWHERE!

I always have an amazing guided experience of learning with HFE. Over the past 10 years my journey from Level 2 Gym instructor, to today passing my all my Level 3 and 4's levels, I have been tutored and taught so much in experiance and knowledge.
In my experience with HFE's tutors and with their continue help my ever educated experiences, this has been a journey that has made to feel I always am relaxed and I have every question answered. I always feel whenever I do the next course, I feel I have 'come back home'! I always recommend them to everyone.

Great learning experience with HFE. The course was well-structured, supportive, and confidence‑building. Highly recommend.

The whole course was well delivered, particularly the face to face/group sessions, which I found to be the most beneficial. The support from the tutors was excellent, they were very responsive and clear in their explanations. I would, and have, recommend this course to anyone who was interested in becoming a Pilates Instructor.

Re training at 61 felt quite daunting, I was taking my Level 3 in Nutrition and Level 2 Gym Instructor courses.
The support from Eleana was what got me through, the courses are excellent and I enjoyed both the workbooks and videos on offer even my Gym Practical at the end.
Take advantage of the tutor support it really does make a big difference, can't thank Eleana enough and HFE for getting me through.

I recently completed the Gym Instructor course and found the whole experience very positive. The learning materials were clear, well presented, and easy to follow, and the structure of the course made it straightforward to build skills and confidence at a steady pace.
I’d like to give particular thanks to Sarah Cole, who was extremely supportive throughout my practical assessment. Her guidance was calm, constructive, and genuinely helpful, and it made a real difference on the day.
Overall, a very solid course that I would recommend to anyone looking to start their journey in the fitness industry.

Lorna was a fantastic tutor! She made us all feel welcome and was a great support for everyone. She had a breadth of knowledge and it shows in the way she taught us all. She has given me the skills and knowledge to progress as a Pilates teacher and I can’t thank her enough for how she has helped me with my future career ❤️

My tutor Eleana was very helpful and encouraging; the course was very well thought out & the online tutorials were excellent.