Spencer Moore, Chief Strategy Officer of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) comments on the UK skills system
It’s now a year since the UK’s new government took office with a mandate to revitalise economic growth, tackle regional inequality and reform public services. Central to this agenda has been a significant shift in national skills policy, marked by a renewed focus and acceleration on devolution, the publication of a new skills strategy and the development of an industrial strategy that places productivity and place-based planning at its heart.
For those of us working at the forefront of workforce development in sport and physical activity, this evolving policy landscape is both welcome and energising. It brings into focus the enormous, and often underutilised, contribution our sector makes to the national agenda and the unique value of a skilled, professional and locally rooted workforce in delivering across government missions.
It also confirms that the approach we have taken as a sector to skills in recent years has been pioneering, as evolving policy mirrors what we have built to drive skills and workforce success across the sector.
A three-pronged policy shift: devolution, skills, strategies
The new skills strategy sets out a vision for a ‘dynamic, demand-led and regionally responsive’ skills system. It is aiming to create a decisive shift away from a one-size-fits-all model, placing employers and local decision-makers at the centre of design and delivery.
This transformation is reinforced by the wave of devolution deals, including the trailblazers in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, and further combined authorities gaining powers over adult education budgets. Local areas are now actively shaping their skills ecosystems, guided by economic need, local priorities and social purpose.
In parallel to this, the government’s new Industrial Strategy identifies key growth sectors and at the same time highlights the importance of foundational sectors that provide essential services, underpin employment in every community and industry sector, and support broader national goals on growth.
Sport and physical activity is firmly part of this foundational economy. It spans over 600,000 jobs and contributes £99.6 billion annually to the UK economy as well as providing vital services that support education, health and wellbeing, community cohesion and productivity. Yet until recently, our sector has not been at the table in national skills and economic conversations. That is now beginning to change.
From the margin to mainstream – our workforce as a strategic asset
At CIMSPA, we’ve long championed the belief that a professional, recognised, and regionally aligned workforce in sport and physical activity can be a strategic asset for the nation. Over the last year, we’ve seen that belief validated by policy alignment and partnership working across health, education, employment and local government.
Our Local Skills Project, now active in multiple combined authorities and regions right across the country, is helping local leaders to map supply and demand, identify skills gaps and co-design training and qualifications that reflect real employer and community needs. This work is building the infrastructure for a truly place-based workforce strategy – one that ensures sport and physical activity can support wider public policy objectives, as well as health and wellbeing, social cohesion and economic priorities, in each locality.
We’re also embedding professional status as the benchmark for sector employment, giving employers, commissioners and service partners confidence in the competence and credibility of those delivering vital services on the ground.
Alongside our work on local skills development, CIMSPA has also been collaborating closely with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to explore how the sport and physical activity sector can support national employment goals and tackle economic inactivity.
By identifying sector roles that are well-suited to people re-entering the workforce, and leading the piloting of the DWP Sport and Physical Activity Employability Academy and the Employability Pledge, we are helping DWP to align jobseekers with meaningful, skills-led career pathways. This partnership is also ensuring that Jobcentre Plus advisers better understand the opportunities within our sector and the value of professional status as a clear, employer-recognised indicator of job readiness.
Together, we are demonstrating how our sector can be a gateway to sustainable employment, particularly for those who are economically inactive and furthest from the labour market.
The Industrial Strategy and the foundational role of our sector
The government’s Industrial Strategy sets out the importance of place, sectoral productivity and inclusive growth. It champions high-tech, high-growth sectors, but also makes a long-overdue case for foundational sectors as economic stabilisers, enablers of improved lifestyles, catalysts for growth and maximisers of social value.
Sport and physical activity sits squarely within that definition. Our services are essential: delivered in every community, touching every demographic, and underpinning outcomes in health, education, economic participation and social cohesion. Our professionals support children to develop motor skills, help older adults to stay active and independent, and work alongside GPs to support people with long-term conditions.
And crucially, we ensure that those priority sectors being targeted to accelerate growth have an active, healthy workforce to deliver that growth.
Let’s not forget that our sector is also an engine of social mobility and economic growth in its own right. Through accessible career pathways, entry-level jobs, apprenticeships and re-skilling routes, we offer opportunities for people from all backgrounds to build meaningful, sustainable careers. That is exactly the type of growth the Industrial Strategy calls for: resilient, inclusive and grounded in place.
Delivering across four of the government’s five national missions
The government’s five national missions provide a framework for joined-up policy and investment. Sport and physical activity, particularly through the work of a skilled and professional workforce, has a unique role to play in four of these five areas:
Build an NHS fit for the future
The NHS cannot sustainably meet demand without a dramatic shift towards prevention and condition management beyond clinical environments. Our workforce delivers that prevention and condition management daily. From falls prevention to cancer prehab, from mental health support to social prescribing, our skilled, professionally recognised practitioners are delivering health outcomes in local communities nationwide.
Professional standards and professional status give healthcare partners assurance of competence, skills and quality, enabling genuine workforce integration across sectors. The growing collaboration between sport, physical activity and health is no longer aspirational, it is essential – and it’s happening with impact that must be recognised and scaled.
Our workforce plays a critical role at both ends of the life course, developing physical literacy in the early years and supporting older adults to live well for longer. Activity professionals provide vital support that complements education, social care and community services, offering physical, cognitive and social benefits which positively impact on health and wellbeing and reduce the demand on NHS services.
As more combined and local authorities seek to integrate provision across these services, it is vital that they can rely on recognised, competent professionals in our sector. CIMSPA’s framework of professional recognition ensures that this trust is well placed.
Kickstart economic growth
As a sector that contributes significantly to GDP and jobs, particularly in underserved areas, our economic value is often overlooked. Yet we are one of the few sectors where growth can be both inclusive and place-based, offering jobs, training and career progression to those furthest from the labour market.
Our work with employers to embed professional status into recruitment practices is helping remove confusion around qualifications and raise standards. This creates clarity in the system and opens up new progression routes, particularly through apprenticeships, technical qualifications and re-skilling.
Add to this the impact that we have as a foundational sector in supporting active wellbeing, improving health and, in turn, reducing economic inactivity. This ensures that all industry sectors have an active, well workforce, and our contribution to this key mission is very clear.
Breaking down barriers to opportunity
The government’s mission aligns closely with the values and potential of the sport and physical activity sector. This is a workforce made up of highly visible, trusted individuals who inspire and support people every day. From community coaches and gym instructors to swimming teachers, these professionals often serve as positive role models, especially for young people growing up in areas where access to support and opportunity can be limited.
Our workforce doesn’t just deliver activity, it builds aspiration, confidence and belonging. With the right investment in training, recognition and career development, we can harness this influence to support social mobility and long-term community impact.
CIMSPA is working to ensure that the curriculum delivered by education and training providers reflects real, local employer needs and helps young people to develop the skills that make them genuinely employable in their own communities.
Through our local skills project and partnerships with further education institutions, we are helping to shape provision that’s aligned to job roles, underpinned by professional standards and responsive to the realities of the local labour market.
This approach is giving young people a clearer line of sight from education into employment, helping them to build confidence, gain relevant qualifications and transition smoothly into meaningful, long-term careers.
The sector is also uniquely placed to support young people who may not thrive in traditional academic settings. Many roles in sport and physical activity prioritise practical skills, emotional intelligence, communication and leadership – qualities that often go unrecognised in standard classroom environments.
Career pathways in our sector offer structured progression that isn’t dependent on academic background, allowing individuals to develop at their own pace through apprenticeships, vocational routes and continuous professional development. For many, this opens a door to purposeful work that might otherwise feel out of reach.
Young people are naturally drawn to our sector because it reflects their interests, values and aspirations, combining physicality, wellbeing, community and impact. By professionalising the workforce, embedding clear standards and recognition and building stronger connections between employers and education providers, CIMSPA is working to make this sector a real springboard of opportunity, where talent is nurtured, diversity is celebrated and every individual can build a rewarding career, regardless of where they started. In doing so, we are not only breaking down barriers, we’re actively rebuilding the bridge between aspiration and achievement, particularly for the 987,000 young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET).
Safer streets
Sport and physical activity are among the most powerful tools we have to build trust, connection and belonging. From local sports teams to inclusive activity provision, our workforce brings people together, builds social capital and addresses inequalities through accessible, engaging interventions and positive role models.
By supporting the professional development of those working in community settings, often in under-resourced or marginalised areas and with lived experience of significant life challenges, we are helping to build a resilient, locally rooted workforce. A workforce able to deliver on the government’s mission to strengthen communities from within and reduce the risk of people engaging in negative behaviours because they have a positive outlet in being active.
Strategy to action and what comes next
The challenge now is to move from alignment to action, the impact of which can be scaled.
CIMSPA is committed to continuing to work with devolved authorities, employers, training providers and national partners to ensure that our sector is seen and invested in as a strategic workforce for national renewal and growth. This is being supported through an extension to the local skills project with funding from Sport England and the National Lottery.
We believe that the professionalisation and localisation of our workforce is central to achieving the ambitions of the skills and industrial strategies. It’s not just about qualifications; it’s about creating a workforce that is competent, confident and connected to the communities they serve.
A year into this government, the policy signals are promising. However, the real test will be how well government harnesses and champions sectors like ours that are engaged in delivery. If the UK is serious about building a healthier, more inclusive and more productive society, then it must recognise that the skilled, professionally recognised workforce delivering sport and physical activity is not peripheral; it’s mission critical.
With the right investment, collaboration and recognition, we are ready to be leaders in the skills devolution revolution.
