The annual contribution of the sport sector to the UK economy is over £8 billion. This sector has more than 36,000 employers creating work for more than 600,000 full-time and part-time employees and 5 million plus volunteers. A significant proportion of the total volunteer workforce is volunteering in sport, with most of them involved in coaching or activity leadership.

Despite the prevalence of this sector, a third of the workforce in the sector have either no formal qualifications or are only qualified at Level 1. In addition, feedback from employers suggests that skills shortages are responsible for a large proportion of the vacancies in this sector. The BTEC National Award in Sport seeks to provide students with a formal qualification that provides an insight into the various different progression and occupational routes within the sector. It gives students the opportunity to achieve a nationally recognised Level 2 (GCSE equivalent) or Level 3 (A2 equivalent) qualification giving them the opportunity to enter employment in the sporting sector or to progress onto higher education

The BTEC Award provides students with an understanding of the essential skills needed when looking to build a career in the sports sector. Students will gain an understanding in topics such as anatomy & physiology which cover the structure, function and how the body responds to exercise on the skeletal, muscular, cardiovascular, and respiratory and energy systems. Other areas covered are fitness testing, analysing performances in team and individual sports and the sports industry.