For leisure and personal service occupations, the required current and future skills are:

• communication skills
• customer handling
• team working
• problem solving skills

In elementary administration and service occupations the required current and future skills are:

• customer handling
• team working
• technical and practical skills
• communication skills

Notable is the low level of both general and professional IT skills required.  In elementary administration and service occupations IT skills are not expected, which is a requirement that will change within the next years. However, in leisure and personal service occupations where more change is anticipated, it is expected that foreign language skills and general IT user skills are likely to increase.

There is some evidence of skills shortages in the sector.  Future trends include:

• the industry is likely to need higher levels of management and business skills
• instructors will have to become more highly qualified to give instruction in areas of GP referrals, cardiac rehabilitation and so on, improving the professionalism of service delivery when working as personal trainers
• customer service and communication skills need to be improved – the industry needs to be perceived as more professional
• specialised sales and marketing employees with improved customer service skills

This suggests that the sector needs a better trained workforce in the future, with increased demand for well qualified personnel.

Source: Spilsbury Research/SkillsActive 2004