SKILLS Project
Continuing the journey towards a skilled workforce for the sport and physical activity sector in Europe

The SKILLS project was built as a complementary initiative and follow- up from the ESSA-Sport project to ensure continuity and to keep the topic of skills development as high priority and at the heart of the sector. The overall ambition was to maintain the momentum and build on the progress made during the ESSA-Sport project in the understanding of the labour market and skill needs of the whole sport and physical activity sector.

The SKILLS project was funded under the Erasmus+ Sport Programme of the European Union and had a duration of two years from January 2020 to December 2021.

Background

The European Sector Skills Alliance for Sport and Physical Activity (ESSA-Sport) project which concluded in October 2019 was co-funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Programme and provided a unique opportunity to engage the whole sport and physical activity sector at both the European and national level.

Important activities for the sector were implemented through the project such as :

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The collection of new knowledge and statistics on the European sport labour market

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The first ever European Employer Skills Survey

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The first edition of the European Sport Skills Summit

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The publication of a series of innovative project outcomes

ESSA-Sport broke new ground and was a clear a statement from the sector of its willingness to work together to further analyse and tackle the skills challenges that face the sector and hold it back in realising its full economic and social potential.

Aim

The SKILLS project was a further step towards a skilled workforce for the sport and physical activity sector. The overall idea was to keep up the momentum and to continue the work to identify the skills issues and perspectives, with the aim to equip the workforce with competences required by the labour market and for the sector to reach its potential, in line with EU policies and tools.

In addition, the project continued to raise awareness about the realities and challenges of sport organisations, encouraged dialogue between stakeholders at all level, and implemented the necessary change regarding the sector needs to evolve and modernise in order to respond to its evolution and growth.

Outputs

SKILLS delivered:

- A yearly summary fact sheet on the sport labour market in Europe
- A summary paper with visuals on skills needs and challenges for the sector
- Compendium of selected good practice examples towards a skilled workforce for the sector
- An annual workshop “Skills and workforce development challenges in the sector” gathering European Sport organisations

Partnership

The project brought together a mix of partners having an active role in the journey towards skills development and modernisation of education and training systems in the sport sector: a national sport council, a sport club, two universities, and an employer representative.