What is it?

Sport includes different specialisms including:

• Physical education such as PE teacher
• Sport and fitness management
• Sports coaching
• Sports development
• Sport journalism
• Sports therapy

Facts and figures

• 90% of organisations in Sussex have between 0 and 10 paid employees, with just 8% having between 11 and 49 employees. Only 2% have 50 or more employees.
• More than half of organisations in Sussex (55%) are run exclusively by volunteers, especially those involved in football.
• 1 in 5 organisations is involved in football, and table tennis is represented more heavily in Sussex than it is across the South East (8% cf. 3%).
• Full-time or part-time staff make up 66% of the paid workforce in Sussex. The other 33% consist of agency, self-employed and seasonal staff.
• Volunteer staff are more likely than paid staff to be working as coaches/teachers/instructors, sports officials and volunteer co-ordinators. Paid employees by contrast are more likely to be working as operational staff (25% cf. 4% of voluntary staff) or as non-managerial support staff (14% cf. 7%).
• Within the paid workforce, the proportion of coaches needed with an NGB Level 1-3 qualification is only slightly higher than the proportion Sussex currently has. However, there is a greater need for more volunteers with a Level 2 NGB qualification; currently 17% have a qualification at this level whereas the desired proportion is 29%.

source: Sussex County Sports Partnership 2007

Employers in Sussex

Employers range from schools, fitness clubs and sport centres to Football Clubs, sector skills council, Local Authorities, national Governing Bodies, Colleges, Universities and voluntary organisations.

Types of qualification suitable for the sector

• Foundation degrees such as Community Sports Coaching, Football Coaching, Sport Coaching & Development, Sport & Fitness
• Undergraduate degrees such as BA Sport Studies, BSc Sport & Exercise Psychology, BSc Sport & Exercise Science, BA Sport & Leisure Management, MA Sports Development, BSc Sports Therapy
• Postgraduate degrees such as MSc Applied Exercise Physiology, MSc Sport & Exercise Biomechanics

Where to study in Sussex

• University of Brighton
• University of Chichester
• University Centre Hastings (UCH)
• Chichester College
• Hastings College of Arts & Technology
• Sussex Downs College

Courses differ from place to place... institutions normally develop and teach their own courses so the content and focus of each course can be very different. It pays to shop around!

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