The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) is the professional development body for the UK’s sport and physical activity sector.

Through this new collaboration, CIMSPA is creating resources and training on careers in the sector to help Job Centre work coaches and DWP employer engagement officers across the country in their work with jobseekers to explore the range of roles available in sport and physical activity.

This will also strengthen the links between local DWP leads and CIMSPA’s local skills delivery team to further enhance skills development and work opportunities in each locality, supporting place-based initiatives that deliver on local priorities, a CIMSPA press release said.

CIMSPA will also work to support over 130 DWP school advisers, who are working in more than 1,000 schools, with access to careers guidance on opportunities available in the sport and physical activity sector.

As a sector, sport and physical activity employers employ nearly 600,000 people, with high demand for people to fill vacant roles. For example, 22,000 unique job vacancies were posted across a two-month period in 2024, the CIMSPA press release said.

Longer term, CIMSPA will work with DWP colleagues to make training opportunities available to DWP customers who want to start a career in the sport and physical activity sector.

Tara Dillon, CEO of CIMSPA, said: “The sport and physical activity sector has some huge benefits for someone looking for a fulfilling role that is flexible and offers great development opportunities. By building a career in our sector you really can change lives, helping people to be healthier and happier through being more active.

“We want to make more people aware that often the practitioners that have the most impact are the ones that reflect the communities that they work with. We know that often economic inactivity is linked to physical inactivity, and by helping people to improve their active wellbeing we can increase their confidence to undertake a more active life, including working or volunteering. The key to this is having a workforce that understands the challenges that people face and who can engage those that are inactive.

“Being a trainer, coaching and delivering physical activity is just one part of the sector. There are many more roles outside of that in areas such as customer service, marketing, IT, facilities management and many more which the sector is looking for people to fill.

“We really see this collaboration, and crucially our alignment on the importance of place-based working to support local people and communities, as integral to supporting more great people to become part of our talented, dedicated workforce.”

The collaboration with CIMSPA and DWP is being facilitated alongside the Local Skills Project, which is managed by CIMSPA and funded by Sport England. This project brings together stakeholders across a locality to ensure that skills provision matches local employer needs and aligns with local health, economic and social priorities. 

• Comment below on this story. Or let us know what you think by emailing us at [email protected] or tweet us to tell us your thoughts or share this story with a friend.