FORMS PROJECT
Emerging Forms of Employment in the Sport sector in Europe
The FORMS project has been funded under the Erasmus+ Sport Programme of the European Union (Call 2020) and has a duration of 2 years, running up to December 2022.
Background
New forms and patterns of employment are being created in response to the growing and changing sport labour market and to address new characteristics and realities of the sector.
By “new forms of employment”, the project means the “relationship between employers and employees that is different that the established 1:1 employment relationship” (Eurofound 2015).
The traditional full-time and open-ended contract with one single employer is becoming less and less relevant in sport and many forms of diverse employment relationships are being adopted, including part-time, temporary agency, ‘employee sharing’, casual contracts, portfolio careers and self-employment. This trend may well be accelerated by COVID-19, and FORMS provides the opportunity to examine its impact in more detail.
The steady growth of the sport workforce up to 2019 already presented challenges in terms of skills and flexible working arrangements. The sudden impact of COVID-19 on the sport sector will present new hurdles to overcome.
Aim
The 24-month FORMS project will provide a timely opportunity for the sector to analyse the emerging picture, meet its challenges and have a positive impact, in particular by continuing to promote a flexible and inclusive labour market, clear career pathways with concrete job opportunities, and to seek to ensure that those working and volunteering in sport are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to perform in their positions through fit for purpose education.
The innovative FORMS project will research, analyse, and present these new forms and patterns of employment and will offer adapted solutions for a better functioning sport labour market across the European Union which could boost job creation and employment opportunities and increase labour market participation.
Expected Outputs
OUTPUT 1: A desk research on the emerging forms of employment in the sport sector in Europe
All national partners will implement a wide desk research on the existing types of employment in the EU sport and physical activity sector and in other sectors that are using a range of new and different employment relationships.
OUTPUT 2: A Summary Paper presenting and describing the emerging forms of employment in the European sport sector
The partnership will analyse the findings and describe:
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existing and emerging forms of employment
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their main characteristics and specificities
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the profile of organisations using each of them
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the profile of the staff being engaged
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the link with the working conditions
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the potential use of each of these forms within the sector
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skills expectations for each identified form of employment.
OUTPUT 3: National Consultation Round Tables on the emerging forms of employment in sport
A total of five national roundtables will be organised (1 in each country represented in the partnership – Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Portugal) with a sample of national and local organisations, including SMEs, selected by the national partner.
OUTPUT 4: A Compendium of good practices and recommendations on the emerging forms of employment in sport
The final phase of the FORMS project will gather into one single document – The Compendium of Good Practices and Recommendations on Emerging Forms of Employment – all information and findings collated from the previous phases as well as a series of recommendations on the emerging forms of employment in the sport sector.
Partnership
Coordianated by the European Observatoire of Sport and Employment (EOSE), the partnership comprises a European network, a sport club, two universities, and three employer representatives.
The partner organisations were selected to gather a good mix of stakeholders with the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding of the realities and challenges of the labour market to make the project a success.
FORMS Library
FORMS final output report
Multilingual Leaflets
Latest News
Towards Innovative Ways of Thinking About Sport Employment in Europe
EOSE and the partners in the EU funded FORMS project are delighted to announce the publication of a groundbreaking report produced as the main output of this unique two-year project. New forms and patterns of employment are being created in response to the growing and...
FORMS Final publication is on his way!
The partners in the EU funded FORMS project “Researching emerging forms of employment in the European sport sector” were delighted to meet in person for a final Full Partner Meeting in Lisbon as guests of Polytechnic Institute of Santarem/Sport Sciences School of Rio...
FORMS Project Partners meet for the first time in person in Luxembourg in June 2022!
June 2022 was an exciting landmark in the FORMS project “Researching emerging forms of employment in the European sport sector” for two reasons. At last, we meet Firstly, despite the project having run for 18 months, this was the first chance for the seven partners...
Research emerging forms of employment in the sport sector in Europe (FORMS 2nd Partner Meeting)
October 2021 saw the second full partner meeting of the FORMS project. The online event had the ambition to review progress in Phase 2 – Desk research and analysis of emerging forms of employment in the sport sector and other sectors in Europe…
FORMS project officially kicked off to focus on emerging forms of employment in sport
14 April 2021 saw the kick-off meeting for a new project funded through the EU’s Erasmus+ Sport programme. Building on the success and main findings of the recent ESSA-Sport project, FORMS will explore emerging forms of employment in the sport sector in Europe…
Contact
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