A 30-year career with barriers throughout
Colin looks back on his journey in the sport workforce, identifying key themes that shaped it.
Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 25 people to understand their experiences of being part of the sport and physical activity sector workforce as part of a new report for Activity Alliance. Each case study shows the various barriers and enablers encountered. Whilst names have been changed, they show the real-life experiences people have had in the sport and physical activity workforce.
It wasn’t until he was in his 30s, when he had to leave his job due to a change in his health, that Colin took up sport – and looked to sport as a potential line of work.
Colin has had a wide range of voluntary and paid roles, spanning several mainstream and disability sports. For example, he has set up and run sports groups and events for disabled people, helped develop adapted sports, trained coaches in adaptations to delivery, sat on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion boards and advised on inclusive resources.
He encountered a perception around disability sport being seen as separate from, and different to, sport – which he believes limits opportunities for disabled people who want to work in sport.
"Getting somebody an interview is only part of it, it’s about how you develop your members of staff to take on senior positions or roles."
Another key challenge that Colin observed is around career progression, due to short-term funding for positions, and roles being created to ‘tick a box’, without thought for structured progression pathways. Disabled employees can feel that their role is tokenistic, and that they are not genuinely encouraged to voice their opinions and share their lived experience.
His 30-year career was aided by flexible working arrangements, such as working from home. Inclusive interview formats, with adjustments and support provided. He also found employers seeking to appraise a candidate’s value holistically, considering their lived experience, qualifications and their passion for their work was incredibly valuable.
Read Colin’s full case study: Colin - sports development career
The ‘Research into the workforce gap - Disabled people in the sport and physical activity workforce’ is available to read on the Activity Alliance website.
