Job roles, responsibilities, and career pathways
Introduction
- Sport and active leisure industry covers a broad range of roles, requiring specific skills from various different disciplines.
Job Roles and Responsibilities
- Sports coach: Instructs and trains athletes and sports teams, and develops personalised plans to improve performance.
- Exercise physicologist: Assesses the physical fitness and functional capabilities of athletes, as well as those with injuries.
- Fitness instructor: Plans and supervises exercise sessions which can include aerobic exercise, resistance training, and stretching.
- Sports manager: Responsible for the operations of a sports team, essentially the business and organisational side of sports.
- Sports therapist: Works with athletes to prevent injury, and helps to rehabilitate those recovering from injuries to full capacity.
- Leisure centre manager: Looks after the administration, marketing, and day to day running of sports and leisure centres.
Career Pathways
- One can enter the industry through various pathways, including academic courses, apprenticeships, or gradually moving up from a lower level role.
- A BTEC in sports science or a related field can provide a strong foundation for roles such as sports coach, sports therapist, or exercise physicist.
- Work placements or internships in leisure centres, gyms, or sports clubs can provide invaluable experience for roles like Leisure Centre Managers or Fitness Instructors.
- Other pathways can involve completing a National Certificate or Diploma in Sport, or have a degree in a related subject to become a sports manager.
- Some can enter the industry as an apprentice, taking on an operational role at a sports facility or gym and gradually gaining increased responsibility and industry knowledge.
Professional Development
- Continual professional development is crucial in the sports and active leisure industry to stay updated with latest techniques, equipment, and knowledge.
- Many roles require specified amounts of CPD hours per year, which can be gained through seminars, courses or shadowing experiences.
Transferable Skills
- The sport and active leisure industry also nurtures a vast array of transferable skills, including teamwork, decision making, problem solving, communication, organisation, managing people, and initiative.
Opportunities and Progression
- Opportunities for progression are plentiful, often leading to senior management or specialistic roles.
- With additional training, a sports coach might specialise in bringing through young talent, or a fitness instructor might move into a role that focuses on rehabilitation.
- For those with the requisite ambition and talent, the sport and active leisure industry can also lead to international opportunities.