Australia's cultural and recreational services industry encompasses radio and television broadcasting, motion pictures, theatre, music, other performing arts, and sports and services to sports. Only 2.5% of the nation's labor force is employed in the industry. The sector has a particularly high level of part-time employment (over 40%). Employment in sports has grown by more than 50% between 1987 and 1997. The industry's work force has a relatively low level of formal qualifications, but a relatively high proportion of workers classified in the professional occupational groups. Employers spent less than the national average on training. Overall, employers were satisfied with vocational education and training (VET) graduates. However, VET graduates rated their courses as less relevant to their current job than graduates in other industries. The emergence of computer-based technologies is having an important impact on skills in some areas of creative arts. (An appendix contains four tables of statistics: national shifts in employment in various industries in Australia; numbers of persons employed in various occupations in the cultural and recreational services industry from 1987-1996; and educational attainment of persons in occupations within the industry.) (KC)