People Culture Skills
Prioritising the sectors workforce
Launched in June 2022, the People Culture Skills work has very much taken hold across Essex, to strengthen and support individuals, instructors, leaders and coaches to be highly skilled and ensure a thriving sector where a human centred approach is nurtured.
The framework continues to be utilised and built upon through the work of the Active Essex Sport and Physical Activity Strategic Team. Through the Organisational Development (OD) programme, which looks to support organisations as they develop their structures, and the wider team support through multiple career events across the year, this work has been made a priority.
Following the Essex Skills Strategy and subsequent Training Needs Analysis (2021) it confirmed that labour market challenges and skills gaps remained the same despite significant investment. This has reinforced the need to look differently at the sector’s challenges and the need to look through a longer-term lens, which resulted in the publication of the People Culture Skills framework.
Supporting the skills gaps and showcasing the number of opportunities and training available throughout the sector is having a fundamental change in the way the workforce is supported.
Active Essex have made a commitment to support people looking to enter the sector and those already working in it to offer a great experience, and this has been executed through events and talks in communities, as well as career events in schools and colleges. The team have developed many CPD and training opportunities to support the wider workforce in their development, as well as those just beginning their career in this sector.
With a clear focus on creating clearer pathways into the sector, the People Culture Skills work provides better IAG about the jobs and opportunities available in the Essex Sport and Physical Activity sector. The various job opportunities and roles are now highlighted on the Essex Opportunities webpage, which has helped showcase the number of career paths residents could be involved in.
As part of this work, Active Essex delivered a Sport and Physical Activity ‘Learn Live’ event, as part of a new broadcast series which showcased employment and training opportunities across Essex.
By highlighting the number of opportunities in our sector, Active Essex have helped raise its profile. The Skills Advisory Panel has offered great knowledge and influence, driving improvement and shaping the direction. In turn, this has influenced the Essex Skills Plan and Local Skills Improvement plan to take sport and physical activity into consideration. Alongside this, CIMSPA have supported a refreshed Data pack, which highlights the latest labour market data for Essex, which can be used to build this area of work over the coming years of the Fit for the Future strategy.
Working with ‘Essex Opportunities’, the Sport and Physical Activity Strategic Team have built stronger relationships with skills and employability colleagues and have invested in building capacity for local organisations to give them time and skills to develop and improve, helping them to thrive.
