Physical activity and sport in Essex, Southend and Thurrock must be managed and delivered by a diverse range of people who are inclusive, highly skilled, and able to make a full contribution to the health and social fabric of Essex. We want a thriving sector where diversity of thought and human-centred approach is nurtured.
Since 2020 we have been working with partners, employers, education, and training providers to understand more about the challenges we face and the impact of Covid-19 on the labour market.
In 2018 we launched a Sector Skills Strategy for Essex, which primarily looked to support skill gaps and focused on training individuals appropriately in response to immediate labour market need, helping organisations fill vacant roles and bringing awareness of Apprenticeships and Traineeships. Priorities highlighted in the Essex Skills Strategy and subsequent Training Needs Analysis (2021), confirmed that labour market challenges and skills gaps remain 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.
Active Essex is committed to embedding this ambition within our own culture, working with CIMSPA as an Employer Partner and as part of the East Region Skills Pilot we know their ethos aligns closely with ours. Tara Dillion, CEO of CIMSPA explains:
“People are the backbone of our sector, and if recruited into an organisation with the right culture that invests in their skills, these people will become their greatest asset. We are really pleased to have supported Active Essex in the development of their People, Culture and Skills framework, which dovetails perfectly with CIMSPA’s overall national strategy, and we look forward to supporting them further in its delivery and the transformational impact that this will have on the sector”
