RAISING THE BAR IN SPORT

AS the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games heats up, Australia’s sports and recreation sector is also looking promising.

February figures from SEEK reveal ads for coaching and instruction jobs grew 20 per cent year-on-year across the country.

Sports and recreation management roles also increased 12 per cent, while fitness and personal training roles increased 4 per cent.

Overall, job ads in the sports and recreation sector grew 2 per cent year on year.

Salaries in this sector vary across roles. SEEK data for January to November 2017 reveals management workers nationally took home the top pay packets in sport and recreation, with job ads offering an average salary of $70,862. Fitness and personal training ads averaged $61,893 and coaching and instruction ads averaged $60,826. By comparison, the average Brisbane salary advertised on SEEK last year was $81,540.

Federal Government projections forecast 19,400 more sports and fitness workers will be needed in Australia in the five years to May, 2022 – an increase of 23 per cent. Within this group is expected to be 7300 more fitness instructors.

The role of a fitness instructor includes consulting with health professionals to develop fitness programs for group classes as well as individuals, delivering group exercise classes and personal tuition in a safe and creative manner, demonstrating body movements and skills used in fitness routines, and monitoring fitness equipment to ensure it is safe, clean and in working condition.

Jobs for fitness instructors are forecast to grow from 31,000 to 38,300 workers between 2017 and 2022. About one in five are currently employed in Queensland.

More than two in three hold a vocational qualification such as a certificate III or IV (48.8 per cent) or diploma or advanced diploma (22.8 per cent) as their highest level of education.