Vacancies for experts after sponsorship ends (6)
I believe the answer is:
spaces
'vacancies' is the definition.
'experts after sponsorship ends' is the wordplay.
'experts' becomes 'aces' (ace is a kind of expert).
'after' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'ends' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'sponsorship' with its centre taken out is 'sp'.
'aces' put after 'sp' is 'SPACES'.
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for spaces that I've seen before include "boxes" , "cleared areas" , "Empty areas" , "distances" , "Open areas" .)