Running head: OPPORTUNITIES AND PREPARATIONS FOR WORK EXPERIENCE 1

Opportunities and Preparations for Work Experience

Students Name

Course

Institutional Affiliation

Date
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Sectors of the sports industry provide different career opportunities to individuals who

study sports. These career opportunities may include management positions, sports

development, coaching as well as fitness, teaching, sports attendants, sports science-based

chances, and lifeguards. Therefore, the occupational experience is important to those students

pursuing sports studies as it helps the learners to transform into competent as well as

informed employees.

On the other hand, four realistic opportunities for suitable work-based experience in

sport may be found in various different sectors of the sports industry. For examples, health

and fitness, outdoor education, sports, and recreation as well as sports and exercise sciences

opportunities may be available in such sectors as the public sector, voluntary sector, private

sector and partnership (Hughes & Franks, 2008). Under above opportunities and sector, a

student who pursues sports studies may acquire different occupations. For example, such

opportunities may include management positions, sports development, coaching as well as

fitness, teaching, sports attendants, sports science-based chances, and lifeguards. Different

organizations in the sports industry offer the sport, health besides fitness facilities for clients.

Additionally, these organizations that operate within the sports industry will be privately or

publicly owned. The public-sector organizations include parks, playgrounds, libraries which

entail the social service to all community members who can access them. These facilities

allow all levels of the community to take part in sports activities, encompassing people who

might have challenge accessing the private club. On the other hand, the organizations which

operate under the private sector of the sports industry offer services such as gymnasium,

fitness and health, sauna, clubs, and spa. These organizations aim at making a profit while

carrying out their operations in the sports industry. Also, the personal investments offer to

fund for such organization. Moreover, selling shares and stocks, and trading on specific

merchandise associated with that organization.

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However, the organizations under voluntary sector in the sports industry exist due to a

specific interest in a certain sporting activity. The voluntary organizations may entail

associations, clubs and national bodies. Different volunteers from various backgrounds

normally take part in the running coaching courses as well as training of clubs for teenagers

and adolescents. The voluntary sector organization may potentially offer opportunities for my

work-based experience project that I need. Voluntary organizations funding generates from

the running fund-raising events, grants from the local authority, national lottery, and

sponsorship from different organizations and well-wishers.

Another different organization that may offer opportunities for the work-based

experience opportunities includes dual-use and joint organization. The joint venture can bring

different sectors of the sports industry together. For example, the joint venture could be

between voluntary and public sector or private and voluntary sector. An example of such case

scenario includes when an amateur football club hires a football field from an organization

that belongs to the sports industry.

Sports Assistant

A sports assistant does work in recreation or sports centers. Their key responsibilities

and duties would encompass setting up as well as taking down apparatus for sporting actions

held at the specific center. (Howley& Franks, 2003). A sports assistant also has duties of

supervision of activities. If competent, the role may entail different duties. Maintenance and

cleaning of the facilities will be encompassed in the work specification of any sports

assistant. In various organizations, a sports assistant will work their way up the position

ladder inside the organization they are working at. Their organization may offer in-house

training as well as send them to various learning institutions on a day release course to

acquire the required qualifications to advance in the sports industry. The skills required for
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this occupation include ability to use initiatives, basic knowledge of activities of sports,

respectable organizational skills, and good communication skills.

Teacher

Teachers in learning institutions who work in sport are regarded as sports teachers or

PE teachers. Their responsibilities and roles entail working with learners of all ages to grow

their abilities and skills with the sport as well as physical activities. A teachers role also

comprises developing lesson plans for as well as organizing lessons, marking work, preparing

reports and communication with parents and interaction with the school community. Sports

teachers can participate in the process of setting up and managing after-school clubs and

teams in netball, rugby, table tennis, tennis, handball, basketball, and football, and arranging

activities of sport and games with other learning institutions. Teachers in universities are

regarded as lecturers and can instruct students taking sports studies as well as a practical

sports-based course (Sharkey & Gaskill, 2006). For an individual to acquire a position of a

teacher in school, a student is needed to attain a degree in Bachelor of Education or Post-

Graduate Certificate in Education at any recognized and authorized university. However, to

become a lecturer learners will require a degree in their sport related discipline or any subject

area associated with the sport as well as a Certificate in Education. The skill required for this

occupation include patience, ability to enthuse others, quality organizational skills, ability to

motivate learners, effective and efficient learning as well as responding skills, creativity, and

passion about teachers subject area.

Sports therapist

The duty of a sports therapist is diverse and relies on their training level. Sports

therapists may be mistaken for physiotherapists. However, they are qualified to offer post-

event as well as pre-event massage assess, treat and manage sports injuries within their array

of training give strapping besides taping, give advice and recommend workouts and training
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to assist in recuperation, give nutritional and dietary guidance, oversee a postural analysis

design rehabilitation activities while using the electrical modalities that is dependent on

exercise(Stafford-Brown, Rea, & Manley, 2010).Sports massage therapy practitioner or a

sports therapist can characteristically be found employed in health care facilities such as

clinical environments or hospitals, in athletics and with rugby and football clubs. This

responsibility also includes liaising with doctors, coaches, and physiotherapist regarding a

patients therapy program and rehabilitation framework alike. On the other hand, the skills

needed to realize a Level 3 diploma in massage therapy associated with exercises and some

of the sports activities, an individual must study for two years, and their study will include a

number of units such as physiology postural analysis and sports massage anatomy.

Realistic Opportunities for appropriate Work-based Experience in Sport

The sources of available opportunities of work-based experience in sport include

press publications, Recruitment agencies, periodicals, county council or city council vacancy

bulletins. The work-based experience in sport may be done for at least fifteen days. However,

this could form a part-time basis, where you work for a maximum of twenty-two hours a

week, or be full time, where one may be working for more than thirty hours a week. There are

many diverse places where one could gather information concerning the opportunities for

work-based experience in the sport. These entail sports publications, local newspapers,

organizations that organize for sports activities, recruitment agencies besides various

websites, and periodicals and press publications. The information regarding vacancies for

work-based experience in sport can also be gathered from press publications or periodicals.

They will typically contain a distinct day when the work-based experience in sports available

are publicly published. The county council or city which manages public leisure facilities

may decide to advertise different vacancies for work-based experience in sports in different

publications. The most important publication under this report is the Leisure Opportunities
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publication. The publication offers advertisement on the vacancies in sports, leisure, fitness

and health.

Curriculum Vitae

Personal Profile

My knowledge in the sports industry has developed to date. I believe that work

placement will improve my knowledge of the sport. Moreover, my knowledge of duties while

taking sports course have been diverse. These include coaching tennis and football. I am a

self-motivated individual and have enthusiasm in sports activities. I have a keen interest in

progress in my career through developing my experience and skills in the sport that has

numerous opportunities which I can explore. Also, I am hardworking and dedicated to all the

things that I start.

Key Skills

Ability to plan as well as effectively lead a session of coaching activity for

various abilities and ages.

Ability to motivate others
Organizational skills
Ability to communicate effectively
A willingness to acquire more knowledge.

References

Will be provided upon request.

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References

Howley, T. & Franks, D. (2003). Health Fitness Instructors Handbook. New York: Human

Kinetics.

Hughes, M. and Franks, I. (2008). The Essentials of Performance Analysis: An Introduction.

Routledge: UK.

Sharkey, J. & Gaskill, E. (2006). Fitness and Health. New York: Human Kinetics.

Stafford-Brown, J.S., Rea, S. and Manley C. (2010) BTEC National Sport: Level 3:

Performance and Excellence. 2nd edn. Hodder Education