There are approximately 38,400 people are employed in sport and recreation sector in the South West of which 2,800 are self-employed.  Total employment in the sector accounts for 1.7% of the regional workforce and 8.4% of all sector jobs in the UK.  There is estimated to be 583,900 volunteers working in the sector.  46% of businesses expected employment to increase compared to 30% nationally, whilst 4% forecast a decrease. 

At a sub-regional level, employment is:

• 12,700 Devon and Cornwall
• 7,500 West of England
• 5,900 Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole
• 4,700 Wiltshire and Swindon
• 4,100 Gloucestershire
• 3,500 Somerset

There are over 3,000 sport and recreation businesses in the region of which 74% employ less than 10 people.  Devon and Cornwall, and the West of England have the highest number of businesses.  This is compared to 84% across all sectors in the region.  Larger organisations in the region include the Nationwide football clubs and county cricket grounds.  There are also a number of stadia and facilities attracting visitors.  Golf, horse racing and water sports are also popular in the region.  The English Institute of Sport multi-sport hub is based at the University of Bath.

Key statistics on the sector in the region:

• 61% of the workforce are female
• 56.3% of the workforce are employed part-time
• jobs are expected to increase by 6,100 between 2002-2008
• a high turnover rate is expected with 30% of current jobs needing to be filled up to 2008, equivalent to 11,500 jobs

23% of businesses have vacancies and 44% of businesses with vacancies report a hard-to-fill vacancy.  Internal skills gaps are reported in 24% of sector businesses in the region which equates to 10% of the workforce.  Skills that need development include: customer handling skills; communication skills; and technical and practical skills.

Source: SkillsActive regional fact sheet