Demand-led sector skills – meeting employer needs

Spencer Moore

Director of Strategy, CIMSPA

Ian Carey

Director, Active Black Country and Black Country Consortium

Nigel Wallace

Director, Nigel Wallace Consulting

Dave Kreyling

Chief Executive Officer, Creative Sport and Leisure

Matt Rhodes

Policy Manager, AoC Sport

Amanda Pitkethly

Lecturer, Edinburgh Napier University

Kelly Gaffney

Head of Training, Becky Adlington Training and Blue Space Learning

CIMSPA update

Nigel Wallace opened the session and explained how collaboration is going to be key moving forward – if you want change, you need to give something back. Nigel then introduced the panel.

Spencer Moore was introduced, who reflected on what CIMSPA has been building in the last 12 months and how our sector is changing for the better.

Economic impact of the sport and physical activity sector

£9.98 million has been put back into the sector. We are up there with some of the biggest sectors. There are 329,877 people employed in our sector with a £16,969 average salary and there has been a 19% growth within the last 12 months. Our businesses are growing. The South East of England is a hot spot for growth. Wages are growing but slowly.

Skills – demand and supply

Most common area of “soft skill deficiency amongst applicants” for jobs:

  • Leadership and management (40%)
  • Team working skills (39%)
  • Customer handling skills (39%)
  • Problem solving skills (37%)
  • Oral communication skills (36%)


Training providers, through no fault of their own, have delivered what they can, but this is not always what the employers and sector needs/wants.

There is a significant annual turnover of staff – 30%+ and employers are looking for clear support on making the best training and development choices.

Multiple routes into the sector

  • Qualifications
  • Degrees
  • Apprenticeships


Challenges

  • Urban myths around standards for deployment
  • Lack of clarity around insurance
  • No clear career pathway through the sector


Five pillars of the system CIMSPA is putting in place

  1. Sector engagement
  2. Professional standards – what are they, how they are used, benefits etc
  3. Endorsement of education products and ongoing quality assurance to maintain and improve standards
  4. Clear career pathways for individuals
  5. Advocacy and lobbying to ensure the sector is well-represented.


These elements combined will allow us to build a UK-wide system that recognises the devolved nature of the sport and physical activity, and education sectors.

Questions for professionals going forward

  • How do we create a training and education system that meets the changing and evolving needs of the sector at a local and national level?
  • What more needs to be done?
  • How can we take great practice and systemise it into “the new normal”?
  • How do we secure more skills and training investment into the sector?


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