Communication, enthusiasm and management are the top three ‘soft’ skills in demand in sport and physical activity. Employers list these in job descriptions more often than any others.
20% of online job descriptions for roles in sport and physical activity list ‘communication skills’ as essential in the ideal candidate.
The need for enthusiasm comes up in 18% of all job postings. 17% of postings cited management skills as necessary.
When looking at ‘hard skills’ more specific to the sport and physical activity workforce, we can start to see where gaps exist between the demand from employers and the supply from applicants.
The biggest gap between demand and supply lies within physical therapy: 27% of employers are looking for expertise in this field. Only 3% of applicants have it in their skill profile.
Rehabilitation and fitness training skills also have a big gap between demand and supply in our sector. These are two of the most sought-after skills by employers. But only 2% of applicants mention rehabilitation skills in their applications.
At the opposite end of the skill gap spectrum is a range of health and safety skills. Based on the EMSI data, skills like health assessments and risk analysis have some of the best supply from prospective employees, relative to demand in job descriptions.
