Tara Dillon, CEO of CIMSPA reflects on a year which saw a defining moment for our sector’s workforce.
As 2025 comes to a close, it’s worth pausing to recognise what a transformative year this has been for our sector. For years, there’s been a shared ambition across the sport, fitness, physical activity and active wellbeing community, for genuine professional recognition that reflects the expertise, commitment, and impact of the people who make this sector what it is.
This year, that ambition became reality.
The launch of professional status marked a defining moment. After years of collaboration, consultation and design, we finally have a unified system that gives everyone working in this sector, from coaches and instructors to managers, educators and leaders, the same kind of professional standing that colleagues in health, education and care have long enjoyed. It’s a moment that moves us from being seen as simply passionate and skilled, to being recognised as a trusted and professional workforce that plays a vital role in the health and wellbeing of the nation.
True professional recognition is not about just a title or a certificate because it’s about trust, credibility and accountability. It means being able to demonstrate, clearly and confidently, that you meet the standards expected of a professional who helps people live healthier, more active lives. It means that your qualifications, skills and commitment to learning are verified, not just assumed, and that your professionalism is visible and valued wherever you work. It gives employers a clear benchmark for quality, and it gives the public confidence that when they engage with someone from our sector, they are in the hands of a recognised professional.
That visibility and assurance have never been more important than it is right now. The work we do increasingly overlaps with health, education and social care, and our partnerships with these sectors are growing stronger every week. From social prescribing and rehabilitation to physical literacy in schools and workplace wellbeing initiatives, our professionals are supporting people at every stage of life. We’ve always known that in order to stand confidently alongside doctors, teachers and allied health professionals, we need to demonstrate the same rigour, standards and governance. Professional status gives us that common language of credibility and it allows us to collaborate on equal terms. It also enables us to be recognised as essential contributors to prevention, recovery and community health, and to ensure that the expertise of our sector is fully understood, realised and respected.
This is what true recognition looks like. It’s about being seen not just as practitioners who deliver activity, but as professionals who improve lives, strengthen communities, and contribute directly to public health outcomes. It’s about the shift from being valued for what we do, to being recognised for who we are and the standards we uphold.
Over the past few months, thousands of individuals have taken that step to claim their professional status, proudly displaying their digital badge and becoming part of a recognised professional community. That badge is more than a symbol – it is a live, verifiable, digital mark of assurance that demonstrates your professional standing. These credentials show that you are qualified, current and committed to ongoing development. It’s a signal to employers, clients and partners that you represent the very best of this sector and that you’re a professional who is accountable, capable and continually learning.
For practitioners and managers across the sector, this is your moment. You’ve asked for recognition, and it’s now here. Claim your professional status, make it visible and take ownership of your professional identity. By doing so, you don’t just strengthen your own career, you strengthen the standing of the entire workforce.
If you’re an employer, this is the time to act too. You now have the means to recruit, reward and develop your teams based on verified professional standards. Make professional status the one thing you look for in every recruitment. By embedding it into your workforce strategy, you’ll be building organisations that deliver quality and impact, and teams that are trusted by partners, respected by communities and valued by funders. Employers who take this step now will lead the way in defining what a truly professional sport and physical activity workforce looks like.
Embracing professional status isn’t only about raising internal standards; it’s about unlocking wider opportunities for growth, innovation and impact. A workforce built around verified professionalism is one that is better equipped to serve a more diverse range of participants, deliver inclusive programmes, and respond confidently to complex community needs. It strengthens your organisation’s reputation and builds the kind of assurance that attracts partners, funders and commissioners who want to invest in quality. With professional status embedded into recruitment and development, you’re not only demonstrating a commitment to excellence, you’re creating a culture where staff feel valued, supported and proud of their profession. That sense of professionalism translates directly into stronger outcomes for the people and communities you serve, as well as greater sustainability for your organisation.
Education providers also have a critical role to play because professional status creates a direct bridge between learning and employment, giving students a clear route into a career where their qualifications lead to recognised professional standing. By aligning programmes and qualifications with the professional standards framework, providers can ensure that every learner begins their career ready to contribute to a professional, future-focused sector.
Looking to healthcare professionals and system partners, the introduction of professional status in sport and physical activity brings huge benefits too. It provides confidence that when you refer patients or collaborate with our workforce, you are connecting them with practitioners who are trained, accountable and working to nationally recognised standards. It creates a clear, transparent framework that aligns with the expectations and governance you’re already familiar with across the health system. This shared language of professionalism enables more integrated approaches to prevention, rehabilitation and recovery, helping health and activity professionals work together to keep people well for longer. It builds trust, reduces risk and strengthens the bridge between clinical care and community-based support, ensuring that physical activity is fully recognised and embedded as part of the nation’s health infrastructure.
The introduction of professional status has already begun to change the way our sector sees itself and how its seen by other professions. It’s connecting individuals, employers and educators around a shared sense of purpose, and it’s helping us all to align behind a clear and consistent definition of professionalism. It’s creating a more confident, united sector and one that can take its place alongside other established professions with pride and assurance.
However, the real impact will only be realised when everyone takes part. When every individual claims their status, when every employer insists on it, and when every educator embeds it into the learning journey. You asked for this, and we built it together. Now it’s time to use it.
This is more than an administrative change or a new credential. It’s a cultural shift that has the potential to elevate our sector to the level of influence and respect it has long deserved. It’s what allows us to move forward as a professional community that is not only passionate about physical activity and sport, but trusted as a vital partner in health, education and community wellbeing.
2025 was the year professional recognition became real. In 2026, we need to see every professional, every employer and every education provider playing their part in making it universal. You asked for it, and now it’s time to make it count.
Best wishes for the festive period.
Tara
Find out more about professional status