Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials

ANZSCO ID 4523

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
47,300
Future Growth
9.8%
Weekly Earnings
$1,254
Full-Time Share
19%
Female Share
50%
Average age
23

Summary

Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials coach, train and instruct participants in sports, and officiate at sporting events.

Tasks

  • coaching, training and instructing sportspersons by analysing performances and developing abilities

  • planning and directing game strategies, developing play patterns and analysing game progress

  • motivating Sportspersons and supervising practice sessions

  • recruiting players and other coaching staff

  • arranging entries into sporting competitions

  • promoting sports and skills development, and overseeing the participation of young people in sport

  • officiating at sporting events to enforce rules

  • coordinating and directing sporting activities, and liaising with other officials to interpret and enforce rules and regulations relating to sport


Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. The latest data are for the five years from November 2021 to November 2026. Over this period, the number of workers:

  • is expected to grow strongly
  • is likely to reach 44,000 by 2026.
  • Source: Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.

    Notes: The number employed includes people who work in this occupation as their main job. People who work in more than one job are counted against the occupation they work the most hours in.

    Employment projections figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Calculations based on these rounded figures may result in differences to the numbers that are displayed on this page. Employment projections data (including occupations) can be downloaded from the Employment Projections page.

Projected Change
9.8%
(or 3,900 jobs)
From
40,100
in 2021
To
44,000
in 2026

Number of Workers

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.
Year Employment
2011 39,700
2012 38,000
2013 42,500
2014 44,200
2015 47,300
2016 37,300
2017 44,400
2018 51,800
2019 48,600
2020 40,900
2021 40,100
2026 44,000

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 19% of people employed as Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 47 percentage points below the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 46 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Median full-time earnings are $1,254 per week, this is much lower than the all jobs median ($1,593):

    • 3 in 4 workers earn more than $1,077
    • 1 in 4 earn more than $1,353

    Median hourly earnings are $33, this is lower than the all jobs median ($41 per hour).

    Sources: Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average. Full-time median earnings and median hourly earnings: ABS, Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021. Compared to all jobs median.

Weekly Earnings (Before Tax)

Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Earnings Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials All Jobs Average
Full-Time Earnings 1,254 1,593
Total Earnings 0 0

Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.


Industries

Main industries

1
Education and Training
55.0%
2
Arts and Recreation Services
39.2%
3
Other Services
1.5%
4
Accommodation and Food Services
0.8%
5
Other industries
3.5%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

29.9% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

31.4% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

17.4% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

6.2% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

10.7% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

1.5% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.4% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

2.4% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials All Jobs Average
NSW 29.9 31.6
VIC 31.4 25.6
QLD 17.4 20.0
SA 6.2 7.0
WA 10.7 10.8
TAS 1.5 2.0
NT 0.4 1.0
ACT 2.4 1.9



Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
23
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
50%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials is 23 years. This is younger than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 15 to 19 years.

    Females make up 50% of the workforce. This is similar to the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials All Jobs Average
15-19 33.0 5.0
20-24 22.6 9.3
25-34 13.3 22.9
35-44 12.6 22.0
45-54 10.5 21.6
55-59 3.5 9.0
60-64 2.1 6.0
65 and Over 2.4 4.2
Median Age 23 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

A high level of sporting knowledge and skill is needed to work as a Sports Coach, Instructor or Official. Some workers also have formal qualifications. Courses are often available through the relevant industry association or Vocational Education and Training (VET).

Visit

  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Sport, Fitness and Recreation VET training pathways.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 3.4 10.1
Bachelor degree 14.7 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 8.4 11.6
Certificate III/IV 10.4 21.1
Year 12 38.3 18.1
Year 11 8.4 4.8
Year 10 and below 16.4 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials who are reliable, caring, compassionate and empathetic, with the ability to provide good customer service.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 70%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 68%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 66%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 61%

    Systems evaluation

    Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

  • 59%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 59%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 59%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 59%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 57%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 57%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 57%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 57%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 57%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 57%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 55%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 55%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 55%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 54%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 52%

    Systems analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.

  • 50%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 69%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 68%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 60%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 55%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 53%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 50%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 49%

    Sales and marketing

    Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • 44%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 40%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 40%

    Therapy and counselling

    Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.

  • 37%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 37%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 34%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 33%

    Transportation

    Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.

  • 32%

    Economics and accounting

    Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.

  • 29%

    Sociology and anthropology

    Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

  • 27%

    Biology

    Plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, how they rely on and work with each other and the environment.

  • 26%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 25%

    Production and processing

    Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.

  • 20%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 66%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 66%

    Visualization

    Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

  • 61%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 59%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 59%

    Brainstorming

    Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.

  • 57%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 57%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 57%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 57%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 55%

    Originality

    Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.

  • 55%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 55%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 54%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 52%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 48%

    Flexibility of closure

    See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.

  • 48%

    Memorization

    Remember things like words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

  • 45%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 45%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.

  • 45%

    Multitasking

    Do two or more things at the same time.

  • 43%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 82%

    Doing physically active work

    Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.

  • 80%

    Coaching and developing others

    Working out the needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or helping them to improve.

  • 70%

    Training and teaching others

    Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.

  • 70%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 70%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 66%

    Coordinating the work of a team

    Getting members of a group to work together to finish a task.

  • 66%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 65%

    Negotiating and resolving conflicts

    Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.

  • 63%

    Scheduling work and activities

    Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

  • 62%

    Assessing and evaluating things

    Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.

  • 62%

    Thinking creatively

    Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.

  • 61%

    Communicating with the public

    Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 61%

    Giving expert advice

    Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups.

  • 60%

    Working with the public

    Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.

  • 60%

    Handling and moving objects

    Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.

  • 59%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 57%

    Influencing people

    Convincing people to buy something or to change their minds or actions.

  • 57%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 56%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 43%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 86%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 81%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 81%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 48%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 29%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

  • 19%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 86%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 86%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 86%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 57%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.

  • 57%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 52%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 98%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 95%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 94%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 93%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 89%

    Competition

    Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.

  • 89%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 88%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 86%

    Conflict situations

    Deal with conflict or disagreements.

  • 86%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 86%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 78%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 78%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 76%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 76%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 75%

    Health and safety of others

    Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.

  • 73%

    Public speaking

    Talk to a group of people.

  • 72%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 71%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 66%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 66%

    Outdoors, exposed to weather

    Work outdoors, exposed to the weather.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 27-2022.00 - Coaches and Scouts.


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