Workforce Development
Introduction
Recent research has shown that there is a need for more regional prioritisation with regard to workforce development of the sporting sector.
Although much research has been undertaken there is still a need to develop our understanding of regional and sub-regional issues.
During 2006 Sport England regions worked with SkillsActive Regional Development Managers and other key partners such as the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) to develop Sector Skills Agreement Regional Action Plans (SSARAP).
These plans presented regional workforce statistics and outlined priority skills issues and actions required to alleviate them.
West Yorkshire’s population is just over two million. Its characteristics include a growing minority ethnic population of 11.4%. In 2006/07 the 16-18 year old cohort is estimated at 89,760 compared to 89,040 in 2005/06 (Source: LSC Key Learning and Skills Facts 2006/07).
According to the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University, sport generates £2.5billion in annual turnover in the region, 1.5% of the region's economy. Around 508,000 people participate in organised sports clubs, and residents in the region spend £1.2billion annually on sports related goods and services, around 3% of total household spending
Sports organisations in West Yorkshire are clearly planning for growth and expansion of services, facilities and products available, as the Nation is encouraged to become more active.
Increased participation in sport and physical activity by children, young people and adults will lead to increased demand for leisure opportunities. With this demand comes the need for an enlarged workforce with ever more sophisticated skills, knowledge and competence.
We need, therefore, to ensure that the sport and active recreation sector in West Yorkshire has the right people in sport with the right skills, by continually raising our profile as a professional sector with initiatives to help up-skill the workforce, increase employability and encourage continuous professional development.
Workforce Development Planning in the West Yorkshire Sports Partnership
The agreed vision for the West Yorkshire Sports Partnership is:
‘For West Yorkshire to have a well motivated and highly skilled workforce (paid and unpaid) that will drive the development of sport during the next decade’
Establishing the Current Position.
The WYS team undertook an audit that established the current position of the agreed WFD plan objectives. The audit involved a cross section of the WYSP that was representative of the various sub-sectors.
With reference to the Voluntary Sector plan, a planning day was arranged for all relevant parties to attend and feed in their thoughts around the current position.
In addition to this audit Sheffield Hallam University were commissioned by Sport England to carry out a survey across the sector. The results provided by the survey provided quantitative data to contribute to the current position and the WYS audit would offer a more qualitative forecast.
Analysis of the Current Position.
The next step of the planning process involved analysing the current position offered by the WYS audit and the SHU survey. This was communicated to partners via a workforce development planning day. The planning day outlined the current position, but focused mainly on discussing the implications of the research findings, establishing an agreement of where the WYSP wants to be in terms of workforce development and discussing how the vision will be achieved in each sub-sector.
Writing the Sub-sector plans
As a result of the workforce development planning day, draft 3 year plans were formed alongside 1 year action plans for each sub-sector. These plans were fed into a consultation process with the WYSP and all comments were fed back into the plans.
In addition, the plans interpret the information collected from the WYS audit, SHU survey and workforce development planning day alongside utilising other information from various other reports on the sector.
To view the West Yorkshire Sports Partnership Workforce Development Plan, click below
Workforce Development Plan 2007-2010