Problem, insight, solution – how CIMSPA’s data services can spark action
We spoke to Ian Gray, the first to receive a custom data report from CIMSPA to evidence his concerns about recruitment in the North East
Ian Gray FCIMSPA (Chartered) is the Leisure Operations and Development Manager at Hartlepool Borough Council. When the locality started looking into opening a new leisure facility, Ian turned to the CIMSPA insights service to gain clarity on their recruitment issues.
The problem
In early 2026, Hartlepool will welcome locals to a new leisure facility. While the £35 million facility is currently under construction, the borough council who will run it are already thinking of operational planning, including staffing the site. The Highlight Active Wellbeing Hub, located on Hartlepool’s scenic waterfront, will replace an existing leisure centre in the town. It will, however, require twice the number of full-time and part-time employees as well as casual workers to run it.
Unfortunately, recruitment is one of the key issues facing the hospitality and leisure sectors across the country at the moment. Known for its high turnover rates, businesses often struggle to maintain a stable workforce or grow. Since the pandemic, this has only worsened in the sport and physical activity sector, with the pool of skilled candidates shrinking after sector workers shifted to other careers while leisure centres were closed.
Operational staff are crucial to running leisure facilities – from opening the doors to ensuring the safety of all those who visit. In Hartlepool, these are almost solely local residents. Ian theorises that this is partly due to the geographical constraints of the town. On the coast and set back from commuter highways, the area struggles to attract outsiders for a wide range of jobs. This compounds other issues more specific to Hartlepool Borough Council’s new active wellbeing hub:
- All of the local authority’s leisure operations are run internally rather than by a private operator. While this enables the council to provide a bespoke leisure facility for the town, it does create a barrier to recruiting staff for it. Public-sector job application processes are widely known to be testing for candidates. The traditional lengthy forms may help to whittle down to the best candidates, but with competitors offering one-click application and simple CV submission, councils can run the risk of a reduced number of applicants. This is particularly an issue for the sport and physical activity workforce, who have plenty of private-sector options or may prefer to be self-employed.
- Even before you reach the application form, local private-sector leisure facilities can often offer greater kerb appeal. The Leisure Operations and Development Manager explains that one such nearby site offers a wider range of job roles, plus a selection of apprenticeships. This enables them to recruit and support staff into sector careers. As there are pressures on council budgets, this could be presented as an option for the Highlight Active Wellbeing Hub with hard and fast proof that it would improve recruitment and retention.
The insight
With these suspicions that wider factors were at play in hindering recruitment for the facility, Ian contacted the CIMSPA Insights team to gain clarity and hard facts on the matter.
Initially, Ian used the Data Lens platform to explore information on jobs and recruitment in the local area. He decided, however, that more in-depth insight was required to fully understand the issue and gain a data picture that matched his experience.
On contacting the CIMSPA Insights team, Ian was invited to become the first client to receive a custom insight report.
After consultation on exactly what information was needed, the team collated in-depth, high-quality information on the careers landscape for sport and physical activity in Hartlepool and the Tees Valley.
The insight that they found matched what Ian suspected, and he was reassured that this was accurate evidence:
“With CIMSPA being a chartered institute, its backing means a lot – it says that the data is authentic and trustworthy and that makes it far easier for us to make the council’s heads of service aware of the issues now.”
The solution
Report in hand, Ian was able to present the problem to Hartlepool Borough Council’s senior management team with data providing the necessary backing to make an impact.
Moving forwards, a range of different initiatives are being explored on the basis of the Insight team’s recommendations:
- The council are holding discussions with Swim England regarding expanding their swimming teacher academy provision to boost skills in the local area. Now that the summer holidays are over, real progress is being made in this area and should improve the recruitment pool for this role.
- Internally, Ian is collaborating with other council departments to discuss apprenticeship budgets – offering leisure apprenticeships in the new facility would give the opportunity for school leavers and career switchers to find a place in the sector as well as allowing existing employees to upskill and fill more senior positions.
- The Leisure Operations and Development Manager sits on CIMSPA’s Workforce Professional Development Board as well as its leisure industry sub-committee. He has plans to connect with both to see what insight its member stakeholders from across the sector can bring to the table. Perhaps similar challenges have been overcome in other parts of the country?
- He is also keen to connect with the area’s Local Skills Advisory Board. By linking up with schools and further education colleges through the board, the council can create clear sport and physical activity careers pathways for young people.
- Many councils in the UK are considering measures to improve their recruitment processes across their local authority job offering. Equipped with evidence to support change, Hartlepool Borough Council may wish to explore how the experience can be streamlined for candidates in order to attract more applications.
The opinion
With the active wellbeing hub’s grand opening being in little over a year, there is plenty of work to be done to encourage job applications and fill the staff roster. While there is no one simple solution, Ian has been able to use the data in the custom report from the CIMSPA Insights team to look into a range of options.
He is extremely pleased with the service he received and how the insight gained has allowed him to move forward with improving recruitment for Hartlepool’s new active wellbeing hub:
“I would recommend that anyone looking for clarity in the sport and physical activity sector get in touch with the Insight team to see how they can help. It gave us the right insight and data to support our work, and coming from CIMSPA, we knew that it was real, up-to-date and accurate information.
“I would have no hesitation in recommending the service and would highlight that it may confirm what you already think.”
A range of insight services are available from the CIMSPA team to support you with any queries you might have about the sport and physical activity sector. From quick and simple access to the Data Lens platform to bespoke consultation services, there is something for everyone. For CIMSPA partners, some opportunities are included as part of your benefits package.
Discover the CIMSPA insight hub
Strategy progress
Providing insight like this to tackle local issues delivers on our mission to improve local skills. By working with local authorities and providing them with accurate and detailed data about the sport and physical activity sector in their region, we can help them to gain an evidence-based understanding of the relationship between skills in their area and the jobs available.
In doing so, we can ensure that these are better aligned. This is achieved by creating plans to improve education availability to fill skills gaps – through academic offering as well as on-the-job upskilling such as targeted CPD and apprenticeship opportunities.
Marrying local skills with job opportunities is essential to ensuring the sustainability of local businesses and the viability of local education and personal growth for individuals. The key to succeeding in this mission is ensuring that there is data available that creates a factual picture of the existing landscape, enabling sport and physical activity sector stakeholders to collaborate and find solutions.
Like Hartlepool Borough Council, many benefit from joining CIMSPA’s local skills accountability boards. Through these regional groups, local authorities, employers, education providers and other sport and physical activity sector stakeholders are able to create a dialogue and better work together to improve local skills and match supply and demand.
