Industry insights on skills needs
The following generic skills were identified as highest priority for the Sport and Recreation industry:
- Customer Service/Marketing
- Communication/Virtual collaboration/Social intelligence
- Learning agility/Information literacy/Intellectual autonomy and self-management
- Design mindset/Thinking critically/System thinking/Solving problems
- Managerial/Leadership.
According to the Sport and Recreation IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast, the following form the top priority skills required across the industry:
- Teamwork and communication
- Problem solving
- Self-management
- Technical/job-specific skills.
In addition, other skills and knowledge gaps identified included Online and social media, Marketing, Initiative and enterprise (i.e. small business management) and Sports Administration.
The importance of communication is supported by findings from the job vacancy data, in which communication was identified as the most in demand advertised generic skill in the Sports and Recreation Activities industry, followed by being energetic, organisational skills, planning and detail orientated.
According to job vacancy data the most advertised occupations were for Fitness Instructors, followed by Swimming Coach or Instructor, with top two employers identified as YMCA and Anytime Fitness.
There are a range of key demographic trends that influence the Sport sector, and therefore the skills required of the workforce. The diverse range of user groups including older people, youth and people with health issues and other conditions influence the variety of activity choices available and associated necessary skills. In addition, the prominence of sedentary lifestyles and obesity creates challenges around the role of sport, fitness and recreation in promoting physical health. Socio-economic factors and cultural diversity also impact participation levels, with initiatives in place to encourage participation. These types of initiatives can help bring communities together and provide a platform for people to engage and promote awareness of broader community issues.
There are a number of key strategic and policy developments occurring which will impact the Sport sector, including the release of a national Sport plan titled Sport 2030. The plan was developed after the Australian Sports Commission was rebranded to Sport Australia in 2018 and highlights that fewer Australians are playing sport and engaging in physical activity. The plan has been developed around four strategic priorities which lead to the outcomes of improved physical health, improved mental health, personal development, strengthening communities and growing the economy. The strategic priorities are building a more active Australia, achieving sporting excellence, safeguarding the integrity of sport and strengthening Australia’s sport industry. In addition, ongoing developments, consultations and updates of policies and frameworks are occurring at a state and territory level. To read more about these please see links under the relevant research section below.
The 2021 Skills Priority List identifies the occupations of Sports Administrator and Sports Centre Manager as having a strong future demand, partly due to the demographic changes of the Australian population and the ongoing policy and framework development occurring across all levels of government. The occupations of Other Sports Coach or Instructor, Sports Development Officer, Sports Umpire and Other Sports Official all have a moderate future demand.
Access to sporting facilities in remote areas continues to be a challenge for the sector, many of these facilities are provided by local councils and operate under limited budgets. The benefits of access to these facilities, particularly in remote areas, are wide ranging and include improved health outcomes, providing culturally and linguistically diverse communities the opportunity to participate in the community, and an outlet for younger people to pursue their sporting interests. To address this, the Sport and Recreation IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast suggests increased collaboration between sporting clubs and councils to form strategies that work towards increasing facility access for the community.
According to the Sport Australia report Early impact of COVID-19 on sport and physical activity participation, 76% of Australian children participated in organised outside-of-school sport or physical activity at least once per year in 2019, with the majority of this participation through sports clubs (62%). However the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on organised sport largely due to the restrictions placed on it to adhere to health advice, with children’s participation most impacted. The updated report found 80% of adults and children who played organised sport before COVID-19 had returned to at least one of their sports by March 2021.
A FutureNow report found most sport at elite and community levels resumed as restrictions eased but not all participants and volunteers returned, with a survey assessing the impact of the crisis on community sport in May and June 2020 estimated 16,000 clubs (around one in four) Australia-wide were at risk of closure due to financial losses and new costs associated with the pandemic.
