A significant step towards managing the growth of the Australian sports science industry, Exercise and Sports Science Australia’s (ESSA) Graduate Destination Report on Exercise and Sports Science was released recently.

The report, a first for this industry,  was commissioned in order to understand the workforce operation and conditions for  the current sports science graduates and professionals through a survey involving 727 sports science practitioners. It looked at factors such as the number and demographics of exercise and sports graduates, the distribution of the workforce, employment conditions, career progression and satisfaction and their views on ESSA’s accreditation and membership packages.

“With discussions around flexible workforces remaining a dominant feature in addressing workforce shortages, it is vital that ESSA—as the peak professional association representing exercise and sports science professionals—is able to identify the utility of the exercise and sports science industry.”, explains Anita Hobson-Powell, Chief Executive Officer of ESSA.

“ESSA wants exercise and sports science professionals to feel supported and represented, but we recognize that the industry is broad and currently extends beyond our accredited professionals.”

The success of most graduates in obtaining exercise and sports science employment is evident in these reports but many are still working part-time (25%) and on a casual basis (18%).

“Even recently, from ESSA’s involvement with the National Sports Plan, it is clear that exercise and sports science professionals have an important and extensive role in disease prevention, right through to high performance.”

Despite ESSA being the major organization supporting sports science practitioners, 15% of the surveyed participants were not aware of ESSA prior to the survey. Furthermore, more than half of the surveyed sports science workforce are not members and do not have accreditation from ESSA, citing  factors for not joining such as a difficult application process, membership cost, and benefits of the available packages.

“This report shows that a large number of graduates are not either members nor accredited with ESSA. Bringing our industry together will help in our ongoing efforts to get physical activity, sports and exercise high on the political agenda” said Ms Hobson-Powell.

Recently, an investigation into the Australian high performance and sports science workforce revealed that  many who work in this industry is not satisfied with their current employer due to their professional development needs not being met,  a high workload and unpaid overtime. Yet, in the Graduate Destination Report on Exercise and Sports Science released by ESSA, it found that most of those in this industry is satisfied with their job and is planning to stay in the exercise and sports science workforce indefinitely.

Furthermore, a majority of the workforce in this industry confirmed that they have access to direct formal management, peer support, mentorship, and adequate training programs. However, the remaining challenge is many professions lack development opportunities or a clear progression pathway.