S2ASport Research Report. Labour Market Situation. Trends and Perspectives for Sport Administration in Europe

In recent years, there has been growing interest in studying the sport labour market in Europe and an emerging need to gain a better understanding about its characteristics and the potential for growth and change. The sport sector is becoming increasingly recognised as a sector of economic, social and political importance on the European Union’s agenda and there is a need to investigate the priority areas that have an impact on its growth. In particular, it is essential to explore how to create clear and effective programmes that support sport’s development, encompassing important aspects such as education and training, health, gender rights and citizenship, social inclusion, and employment. In this light, sport administration is a strategic domain that needs to be further investigated, analysed and enhanced. Sport administration involves the processes and activities of running an organisation operating within the sport sector at all levels and includes a variety of tasks across a wide range of functions in accordance with the purpose and direction of the organisation. Sport administration functions are crucial to the entire sport system and are implemented by all of the individuals, both paid and unpaid (volunteers) who work to ensure the effective running of sport organisations. Due to the crucial role played by individuals working in sport administration, the S2A Sport project partners saw a need to define a range of European occupational standards that outline the competences, skills and knowledge needed to work in this part of the sport sector. That is why, as part of the broader qualitative and quantitative research underpinning the project, the partners carried out a desk research on sports administration and a survey on people working to gauge their perceptions of the “sport administration” role and the corresponding competences they believe apply to their day-to-day work. NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY At the time this study was conceived, the level of analysis in the field of sport administration was restricted mainly to sporadic investigations and limited examinations. Therefore, it was decided to carry out an exploratory investigation aimed at: • Gaining a better understanding of the main features of the target labour market • Assessing the potential for growth and change • Identifying the main trends affecting the labour market To fulfil this purpose, a combination of qualitative and quantitative data was collected through a range of techniques: primary data collection, secondary analysis and focus group. KEY FINDINGS When the questionnaire was distributed, 351 responses were received from respondents in 48 countries. Approximately 70% (n=241) of the total reply rate was from the 8 countries represented by the national partners of the S2A Sport consortium: Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, United Kingdom and France. National sport federations (38.1% / n=131) along with sport clubs (12.2% / n=42), national sporting bodies (11% / n=38) and local/regional sport bodies (10.2% / n=35) are the most represented typologies of organisations. Additionally, a number of universities/training providers (5.2% / n=18) and European/international federations (4.9% / n=17) form part of the sample along with two European network organisations and two ministries responsible for sport. The respondents’ organisations have a local or national geographical scope (in approximately 88% of the cases) and are medium/large in size. The number of people working for the organisation ranges widely, from 1-5 (15.7% / n=53) to more than 100 (20.7% / n=70). European/international sport federations and national sport federations represent the highest response rate for organisations with 50-100 employees and more than 100 employees. Full-time employment (a permanent and fixed-term contract) is the most common type of contract used by the organisations (76.5% / n=258). Part-time contracts only represent approximately 6.8% of the replies (n=23). The area “Managing the organisation’s strategic direction” is seen as a crucial aspect for the success of a sport organisation. All of the six proposed items included under this heading – “Developing strategic direction for the organisation”, “Working with the organisation’s board to develop strategy”, “Improving organisational performance”, “Developing and implementing operational plans”, “Contributing to good governance”, “Developing and managing projects” – are considered essential or important in approximately 90% of cases. Approximately 85% (n=295) of the respondents believe that “sport organisations have become more professional in recent years”. In addition, 84.2% (n=288) of the respondents are convinced that “in the future there will be a demand for a better qualified workforce operating in sport organisations”. Even though the level of qualification is rising, no specific education is generally required to work in the area of sport administration. Within the sample, the sport administration landscape appears to comprise both full-time professionals and individuals that work on a voluntary basis.