Arabic version: أكاديمية الرياضة في تسمانيا تفتح مسارات مهنية جديدة
According to ABC News, Tasmania’s expanding professional sports sector is creating job opportunities and new education pathways for people who previously often had to leave the state to pursue careers in sport.
The newly opened Tasmanian Academy of Leadership and Sport is a partnership involving the Tasmania Football Club, JackJumpers basketball, Hobart Hurricanes cricket team and Netball Tasmania, run through TasTAFE. It offers a 12-month dual diploma in leadership, management and sport in Hobart and Launceston, as well as 18 months of course credit towards a business degree at the University of Tasmania.
North Hobart Football Club co-captain Tom Reeves left Tasmania for four years to play state league football and study education on the Gold Coast before returning last year to enrol at the academy. After graduating, he became its education and engagement lead, having first worked as a community engagement officer before moving into teaching.
The academy was established after Tasmania secured the 19th AFL licence in 2023. Jesse O’Hara, who moved home to set up the program, said there had previously been no dedicated education and training pathway for the workforces of Tasmania’s sporting codes. He said clubs such as the Tasmania Devils employed more than 100 non-playing staff.
Tasmania’s sporting landscape has expanded rapidly: the JackJumpers entered the National Basketball League in 2021, the Jewels women’s team have entered the WNBL, and the Tasmania Devils will join the AFL in 2028. Bond University sport management academic Lisa Gowthorp said interest in sports management and the number of available jobs had grown, particularly in administration and management.
