Employability and graduate outcomes for sports students with widening participation characteristics – an analysis of a data derived from 2000-2015

The advent of the Teaching Excellence Framework has placed increased focus on graduate outcomes, widening participation and learning gain within the Higher Education sector. However, it is acknowledged that there is an ‘unequal playing field’ with regard to graduate employment with socio-economic background viewed as the primary determinant of the graduate’s future (UUK, 2016). The authors conducted a study tracking career trajectories for those students graduating from an Abertay sports degree programme in the time period 2000-2015. These programmes were originally only offered as advanced entry routes for students with further education awards enabling them to extend their qualifications and access graduate employment.
The programmes have evolved over the study period and now offer a range of entry points. This presentation will consider employability outcomes for those completing studies from ‘first in family homes’, from lower socioeconomic households, and for those who enrolled with a further education qualification.