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PHYSICAL EDUCATION CAREER GUIDE 2020/2021 Physical Education2 Success at School is a national careers website for students aged 11-19, as well as their teachers, careers advisors, parents and other influencers. Young people can learn about their future career options through no-nonsense careers advice related to their own experiences. As well as covering topics such as career paths, industries, apprenticeships, university and employability skills, we connect schools and students to employers and universities through opportunities on our site and our interactive forums. Millions of young people and their influencers have visited our site for advice and information to help them plan for the future. Go to successatschool.org for more information. Copyright Success at School Ltd 2020 AboutSuccess at School3 PHYSICAL EDUCATION CAREER GUIDE 05 What is PE? 06 How will PE prepare me for work? 10 Should I choose PE? Contents 12 T-levels 15 Why work experience matters 18 How to future-proof your career 14 Job roles 30 Everything you need to know about gap years 20 Spotlight job 32 University 22 Interviews 26 Apprenticeships 34 Your action plan4 Physical education (PE) teaches us “physical literacy”. Not only do we “learn to move” in PE, we also discover how to “move to learn”. As well as developing hard skills in the sports and activities you study, PE teaches confidence, self-esteem, the ability to cooperate and work in teams, and a desire and commitment to improve. This means PE provides a great grounding for the workplace. Many senior leaders in schools have a background in PE. You could also pursue a career as a coach or work in the leisure industry as a personal trainer or swimming instructor. And because it provides the key skills that employers look for – such as decision-making, creativity, teamwork and initiative – PE sets you up for a career across a multitude of industries. If you want to pursue a career in sports and fitness, you could continue PE to A-level and beyond. You could pursue a sports science degree or undertake a vocational higher-education qualification in a field such as personal training, sports massage or outdoor leisure. Apprenticeships are available too, paving the way to a number of sports-focused professions including gym instructor, fitness instructor and school sports coach. PE also prepares you for life. As well as encouraging you to live a healthy and active lifestyle, you will learn how to be physically and emotionally well. Now more than ever, this makes it a vital subject for young people entering a challenging world. Whatever you choose, I wish you the best of luck for the future. Sue Wilkinson CEO Association for Physical Education Foreword5 Do you ever wonder why you get out of breath when you’re exercising? Or maybe you want to understand what separates the top sprinters from the ones who finish just behind them? More of us than ever are members of a gym, with one in 7 people now holding a gym membership. PE not only involves playing and coaching sports, but many other elements within health and fitness. You’ll learn about everything from the physiology of the human body to the psychology behind a winning mindset. You’ll have the opportunity to develop your skills in a range of sports and developing a coaching mindset to facilitate progress in others. You’ll also explore how governments and other organisations encourage people to be more active and lead more healthy lives. Nutrition, injury prevention, sporting tactics, sports law and coaching techniques are just a few of the other aspects you’ll cover in your lessons at school. A sport biomechanist specifically looks at how to prevent injury during exercise, while a sports dietician will use their knowledge of physiology and food to recommend eating plans for athletes while they’re training and competing. A strength and conditioning coach, meanwhile, will help athletes train to improve their functional strength. Many people study PE because they enjoy it, but a lot of the skills you develop in PE transfer to roles outside of sport, some of which aren’t obviously connected. A journalist needs excellent communication skills, as does a charity fundraiser. Your ability to analyse data and evaluate situations will be useful if you become a cyber security analyst or a digital marketing manager. What is education? physical6 5 workplace skills you’ll learn in PE Communication In class: You’ll learn to use different forms of communication, including verbal and non-verbal, during your PE lessons. You’ll need to clearly explain different exercises or movements to your classmates and correct them if necessary. When you’re part of a team, you need to communicate clearly during a sports match. At work: A physiotherapist will need to communicate with their patients to explain the exercises they can do at home, as well as the treatment they’re giving. If you work as a business consultant, you’ll need to adapt your communication style to suit different organisations and be able to explain your ideas clearly. Leadership In class: In the classroom, you’ll learn about various theories of leadership that can be applied to different sporting situations. You’ll also explore different leadership styles. You’ll use these skills when you lead a session as a coach, including giving feedback to participants. At work: Leadership skills are sought-after in the armed forces, particularly once you reach the higher ranks. A social entrepreneur needs to be able to lead a team and get people behind their idea for a business that can create positive change. HR managers also need to be strong leaders and will help manage various teams. Motivation In class: You’ll explore different ways of motivating people to improve their performance or be more physically active. You’ll also learn about goal setting and how this can be beneficial to you as an individual or to a wider sporting team or organisation. At work: If you work as a personal trainer, you need to be self-motivated to find clients and grow your business. If you take a job as a secondary school teacher, you’ll need to motivate your students to study and complete their coursework. Teamwork In class: Playing team sports will be included in your PE lessons. You may also be part of a team of coaches working to improve performance in a particular area. You’ll explore coordination and cooperation in the context of group dynamics, as well as looking at ways of improving cohesion and group productivity. At work: If you’re a fitness centre manager you’ll need to ensure you have the right range of skills across your team and that everyone is working together to create a nice environment for clients. Graphic designers and copywriters often work closely together as part of the same team to produce marketing material for clients. Evaluation In class: You’ll spend time evaluating physical activity and performance. You’ll learn how to use all the concepts, theories, principles and models that you discuss in class to produce a thorough evaluation. You might be evaluating your own performance, or that of others. At work: Being able to critically evaluate information or performance is useful in many jobs. A sports team manager needs to evaluate their team’s performance after each match to find ways to improve. A retail manager needs to evaluate the layout of their store and alter it to ensure customers can find what they’re looking for, as well as to promote specific products or ranges. How will PE prepare me for work?7 PHYSICAL EDUCATION CAREER GUIDE ...and 2 you may not have thought of Data analysis In class: You’ll learn how to collect, interpret and analyse data, diagrams and graphical representations. You’ll also discuss the technology used to collect data in sport, including GPS and motion tracking hardware and software, video and analysis programmes, and testing and recording equipment. At work: A biomedical scientist will carry out analytical testing on biological samples and present this data to healthcare professionals. Within sports, talent scouts analyse data to identify promising athletes. Stress management In class: You’ll learn about the physical and mental effects of stress. You’ll explore how stress affects athletic performance. You’ll also learn about cognitive techniques that can be used to help manage stress in different situations, including positive self-talk, visualisation and mental rehearsal. At work: Stress can creep into many jobs. If you’re a police officer, you will often find yourself in stressful situations and need to learn how to manage these emotions. Counsellors will help other people manage their stress and share useful techniques for keeping calm with their patients.8 Gain knowledge about how the respiratory system functions and how it works with the body’s other essential physiological systems. Learn about lung volumes and how these can impact sporting performance. Understand gas exchange systems in alveoli and muscles. Explore how lifestyle choices, such as smoking, affect the respiratory system. Oxygen powers our bodies, so knowing how to increase our oxygen intake through our lungs is important in any sports coaching role. It’s also essential knowledge for practice nurses who deliver pulmonary rehabilitation to those with long-term lung conditions and hospital nurses treating patients with Covid-19. Air quality consultants also need to understand the human respiratory system and how pollution affects it. KnowledgeHow will it help me at work? Develop detailed knowledge about the musculoskeletal system and a solid understanding of how the muscular and skeletal systems work together to meet the demands of exercise. Learn about the different types of joints in the body and joint actions. Explore concepts such as flexion, extension, hyperextension, adduction and abduction in relation to the shoulder, hip, elbow, knee and ankle joints. If you’re an osteopath you need a detailed knowledge of the musculoskeletal system to assess patients and provide the correct manipulation to alleviate pain and improve mobility. Prosthetists need to understand different limbs and joints to enable them to design and make artificial limbs. Orthotists use this knowledge to help people with a variety of clinical conditions to improve their mobility and function, and to relieve pain. Learn about how sport analytics is used for a variety of functions, including injury prevention, game analysis, skill and technique development and to monitor fitness and performance. Explore the new technology being introduced in sport, as well as how this is being used for data collection. Learn how to use this information to set measurable goals and track progress. Wearable technology devices are becoming increasingly commonplace. You could use your knowledge of this technology as an app designer to design fitness apps that encourage people to be more active. As an urban planner, gathering GPS data can be useful to learn how people move around a town or city, or how they use different spaces. 5 ways your PE know-how will help you at work9 PHYSICAL EDUCATION CAREER GUIDE Find out how the human brain processes information and how you can make that more efficient to improve reaction times. Learn to apply Whiting’s information processing model in a variety of sporting contexts. Explore the relationship between reaction time, response time and movement time. Fast reactions and the ability to efficiently process information are vital in many professional sports. As an elite-level coach you’ll need to help your athletes make gains in these areas to give them the edge in competition. Away from sport, understanding reaction and response times is essential for an accident investigator when they’re examining the causes of a car accident, for example. KnowledgeHow will it help me at work? Learn about the illegal drugs and doping methods that are used to enhance sporting performance. Find out why elite performers may use illegal drugs, exploring the social and psychological reasons. Understand the implications for a sport when its athletes are found guilty of doping and learn about the techniques being used to reduce illegal drug use in sports. If you work as a testing officer for an anti-doping organisation, you’ll be working directly with athletes and their trainers to carry out tests for banned substances. This knowledge will also be helpful if you become a scientific researcher and specialise in identifying new substances that could give athletes an unfair advantage when competing. Next >