I Want to Work In … Sport and Leisure
including "What can I do with my degree in ..... Sports Therapy, Health & Fitness?"
Ways to be involved in sport as a career.
There are many ways to be involved in sport as a career, some of the main ones being:
- Sports practitioner: Sports coach; Sportsman/woman; Fitness instructor; Personal trainer
- Sports management: Sports agent; Sports administrator
- Sports promotion: Sports development; Sports marketing and PR; Sports sponsorship
- Sports reporting: Sports journalist; Sports commentator; Sports website designer
- Sports equipment manufacture and retailing
- Sports science: Sports therapy; Sports psychology
- Sports law
- Sports betting
See the Prospects Sector Briefing at www.prospects.ac.uk/links/SportSB for more detail about these and other roles
Destinations of University of Kent BSc Sport Health & Fitness Graduates
These examples only cover the first six months after graduation. The latest destinations for all subjects (1999-2006) can be found at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/fdrbases/destinations.htm
Sencio: Gym Instructor |
Self EmployedPersonal Trainer/Lifestyle Coach Further StudyUniversity of Birmingham: MSc Health Nutrition |
General information
- Jobs at the London Olympics and Paralympics 2012 www.london2012.com Job and volunteer opportunities
- LOCOG London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games www.london2012.com/get-involved/jobs/working-for-locog
- London 2012 Ceremonies Ltd - responsible for producing the Opening and Closing Ceremonies www.london2012.com/get-involved/jobs/working-for-london-2012-ceremonies
- Olympic Delivery Authority – responsible for venues and infrastructure www.london2012.com/get-involved/jobs/jobs-at-the-oda
- PODIUM, the Further & Higher Education unit for the 2012 Games. The site includes opportunities for paid and voluntary posts at the Games. www.podium.ac.uk
- Kent Sport www.kentsport.org/london2012 making sure that Kent benefits from the London Olympics and Paralympics taking place on its doorstep
- Pre-Games Training Camps Guide trainingcamps.london2012.com
- British Olympic Association www.olympics.org.uk
- SkillsActiv www.skillsactive.com have a careers section on Active Leisure and Learning (sport and recreation; health and fitness; playwork; the outdoors; caravans) www.guidance-research.org/future-trends/sport
- Careers in Sport www.careers-in-sport.co.uk analysis of the different options available. Have interviewed people from all different facets of the sports industry
- An overview of occupations within the sports sector, current issues, skills gaps and predicted trends can be found at: www.guidance-research.org/future-trends/sport
- Football Jobs www.jobsfootball.co.uk
- Working in Fitness www.skillsactive.com/fitness largest annual survey of people working in the health and fitness sector. Over 1,200 responses from instructors, trainers and teachers.
- www.jobswithballs.com job search and careers resource network
- Department for Culture, Media & Sport www.culture.gov.uk
- Sportbusiness www.sportbusiness.com - publish the Britsport directory – available at Reception Desk – and SportBusiness International magazine
- Sport England www.sportengland.org
- Sport Industry Group www.sportindustry.biz
- ISPAL (The Institute for Sport, Parks and Leisure) www.ispal.org.uk
- Blackbook Sports www.blackbooksports.com new sport and Leisure industry recruitment website
- Leisure Jobs www.leisurejobs.com leisure jobs recruitment site
- Leisure Vacancies .co.uk www.leisurevacancies.co.uk features Fitness, Sports, Golf, Travel & Tourism, Hotel, Hospitality & Catering, Cinema, Betting & Gaming, & Sales Jobs.
- Leisure Opportunities www.leisureopportunities.co.uk leisure jobs opportunities and news
- LeisureWork.com www.leisurework.com database of current vacancies in the UK sport and leisure industry.
- Pentasia iGaming Jobs www.pentasia.com Pentasia is an online recruitment website offering all kinds of iGaming and online gambling related jobs.
- Sportaces Fitness & Leisure Jobs www.sportaces.co.uk recruitment site for job seekers and employers working in the leisure industry.
- Sport Lived www.sportlived.co.uk aims to get young people to experience the world through playing or coaching sports abroad on their gap year.
- Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation www.wsf.org.uk
Sports practitioner
- SportscoachUK www.sportscoachuk.org
- Fitness Industry Association www.fia.org.uk
- The Sports Recruitment Company www.sportsrecruitment.co.uk
- Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme www.tass.gov.uk - Government-funded programme to support young athletes in 47 sports
Sports management
- British Horseracing Board www.britishhorseracing.com/inside_horseracing runs an annual graduate training scheme which offers placements in a wide variety of organisations linked to the racing industry. The site also includes a downloadable guide to careers and training in horseracing
- Darley Flying Start www.darleyflyingstart.com international management training Programme for the thoroughbred industry.
Sports promotion
- Sportcal Global Communications www.sportcal.com business information for organisations involved in sport
- BDS Sponsorship Ltd , www.sponsorship.co.uk Work includes the Olympics, motor racing, the London Marathon
- Creating Excellence www.creatingexcellence.co.uk communications and marketing company, providing speakers, sports and health marketing and conference and events services
- Keith Prowsewww.keithprowse.co.uk Sports hospitality
- Octagon www.octagon.com Sports marketing
- WAsserman Media Group www.wmgllc.com talent management and marketing agency, representing over 500 of the world’s elite professional athletes across a spectrum of sports
Sports reporting
- BBC Talent www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent has been used to recruit trainee sports reporters in the past
- Eurosport http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com
- SIS www.satelliteinfo.co.uk operates a number of racing channels and provides information for bookmakers
Sports science
- British Association of Sport & Exercise Sciences www.bases.org.uk
- British Psychological Society www.bps.org.uk/careers information on careers in sport and exercise psychology
- English Institute of Sport www.eis2win.co.uk sports science, sports medicine and other support services
- Society of Sports Therapists www.society-of-sports-therapists.org
- Sport rehabilitation BASRaT www.basrat.org
Sports equipment manufacture and retailing
- Decathlon www.decathlon.co.uk/EN French sports goods designer and retailer
- JJB sports www.jjb.co.uk/recruitment largest UK sports retailer
- Nike http://nike.jobpartners.com/jpapps/nike_emea job site for Europe, the Middle East & Africa
Personal Trainer
Personal trainers provide programmes for clients to help them to achieve their health and fitness goals. Many are self-employed and others work in health clubs.
Physiotherapy, nursing and occupational therapy
You would need to do another degree to retrain in these areas, but there are some shortened courses available for graduates and you may be eligible for an NHS bursary. See Nursing and Medical Therapies
Dietetics and nutrition.
Most dieticians work in hospitals, informing and teaching the public and health professionals about diet and nutrition. There is normally a good match between the amount of graduates applying and jobs available as dieticians. For information on these careers see www.kent.ac.uk/careers/workin/nursing.htm#Dietetics
PE and primary teaching
You would normally need to do a 1 year PGCE to train as a teacher. See our Teaching pages
Careers outside sport
Sport Health and Fitness graduates are attractive to many employers because of their personal transferable skills rather than the specific skills that they have gained during their degree course. These skills include the ability to analyse information in a logical way, numeracy and problem solving skills.
Many sports graduates want to work outdoors and you will find outdoor and active careers at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/workin/outdoor-careers.htm
A chart of jobs that can be entered with any degree subject is at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/careermap.htm Detailed descriptions of many science and non-science jobs can be found at Prospects Web www.prospects.ac.uk in the OCCUPATIONS section.
Last fully updated 2011