The number of training qualifications awarded across the leisure, travel and tourism sector has fallen for the second year running, according to official government statistics.

The Annual Qualifications Market Report shows that the number of leisure-related certificates (other than GCSE, AS and A level) awarded during 2014-15 fell to 424,400 – a drop of 11 per cent from the 475,000 seen in 2013-14. It is a further fall from the 548,200 awards handed out in 2012-13.

The training landscape within the leisure, travel and tourism is dominated by the top five awarding organisations, which between them hand out 71 per cent of all certificates in the sector.

Pearson Education remains the sector’s largest awarding organisation with a total of 145,000 certificates (34 per cent market share), followed by 1st4sport Qualifications (57,500, 14 per cent), Sports Leaders UK (53,500, 13 per cent), Active IQ (41,900, 10 per cent) and Institute of Qualified Lifeguards (26,000, 6 per cent).

In total, there are now 47 awarding organisations operating across leisure, travel and tourism, with 38 of those offering certificates.

In the fitness sector, Active IQ is the dominant force with 69 per cent of the market, up 5 per cent on 2015. For Level 3 personal trainer qualifications, Active IQ now holds a 74 per cent market share.

Jenny Patrickson, Active IQ managing director, said: “Over the last 12 months we have continued to engage extensively with the sector and strengthened relationships with training providers and key stakeholders as well as a wide range of employers and operators so our qualifications remain highly valued and fit for purpose.

“Thanks to our awareness of educational reform, we have also ensured that vocational qualification provision and supporting learning resources remain future-proofed to maintain government funding with an extensive range of high quality digital learning solutions.”

Julian Leybourne, CEO of training provider Icon Training, says the fall in the number of awards handed out is a sign that the leisure sector has to rethink the way qualifications are structured.

“There needs to be a greater strategic picture in terms of what the skills needs are for the sector – as opposed to what qualifications are available,” Leybourne told Health Club Management.

“More focus needs to be on what the appropriate level of competence should be in order to provide an upward trajectory on a clear career pathway, how those skills need to be delivered with respect to blended learning and which of the qualifications are actually relevant to suit the needs of employers on the relevant pathway.

“I think there almost certainly needs to be a cull of availability of qualifications – due to the high proportion of overlap – and questions need to be asked of relevancy and currency, because it shouldn’t be all about quantity, it should be about quality, relevance and being fit for purpose.

“The sector needs to decide what is fit for purpose, what is current and what is relevant – and what is appropriate to fill the skill gaps which currently exist in the sector.”

The fall in the number of leisure awards mirrors an overall decline in training numbers. In total, across all UK industry sectors, the number of certificates awarded in 2014-15 fell by 3 per cent to just under 16 million.

According to Ofqual (The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation), the fall was driven primarily by changes in school entry patterns and “accountability frameworks”.

To download and read the full Annual Qualifications Market Report, click here.