1. Definining Employability

The term employability has evaded consistent definition at the academic and policy levels [1,2] but generally refers to how an individual’s skills, knowledge, or characteristics enable them to find and maintain employment [1–3]. For instance, in the Higher Education context, it has been defined as “a set of achievements, understandings and personal attributes that make individuals more likely to gain employment and to be successful in their chosen occupations” [4]. Flowing from this, policy actions and initiatives tend to concentrate on developing or strengthening components related to personal skills and attributes. For instance, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) highlights the importance of education, training and soft skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, and communication as essential for employability [5]. Likewise, as the labour market has generally shifted to more non-manual work and put a premium on soft skills, the focus on these individual traits has further grown in relation to employability [6].

Many authors, however, have criticised this individual, or supply-side, focused approach, as it shifts blame to jobless (young) individuals for their predicament, as opposed to acknowledging a lack of opportunity and support in the labour market itself [7]. Recent work has shown how unfavourable conditions, such as those imposed by inequality, poverty or inadequate policies, can drive unemployment [8,9]. Recognising these criticisms, McQuaid and Lindsay [2] argue that employability, or the ability to find or maintain employment, is contingent on more than just individual attributes. As they argue, many prominent definitions and models tend to focus uniquely on “supply side” characteristics and ignore or minimise demand or contextual factors. As such, for them, the trait of being employable is determined by a number of personal and external factors that mutually interact with each other. As illustrated and summarised in Table 1, these can be broadly categorised into individual factors, personal factors, and external factors.

Table 1. Broad Model of Employability, adapted from [2]

1. The role of sport in employability

Alongside more general debates and programmes around employability, there has been growing recognition from governments and practitioners of the potential for sport to contribute to economic development and (youth) employability [1,10,11]. This recognition comes from two fronts. First, there is an understanding that sport can provide an attractive and interactive setting that allows for experiential learning and the development of knowledge and skills that are considered essential on the job market. Indeed, due to its widespread appeal as a “shared cultural manifestation”, relatively low cost, and interactive nature, sport has been presented as a vehicle to support development across a wide range of areas [12,13]. In particular, sport programmes have been put forth as potentially effective vehicles to develop soft skills relevant to emplowment [10,14]. For instance, there are longstanding claims, and some evidence, that sport can support the development of competences such as teamwork, communication, discipline or self-confidence [14,15]. Second, the sport industry presents significant potential for economic growth. It is one of the fastest-growing industries globally, encompasses a broad range of sub-sectors, and connects to several other industries [16]. Further, policies in many countries, such as Indonesia, Botswana and Morocco, have identified sport as a prime area for economic diversification and growth [17–19]. In short, on the one hand, sport is viewed as an effective vehicle to develop employability skills. On the other hand, sport itself is viewed as a growing industry that can be a vector for employment and economic growth.

As a result of these perceived opportunities, many sport for development (SFD) programmes targeting employability, both within the sport industry itself and in general, have emerged, and employability is now viewed as one of the central areas for SFD practice. Broadly speaking, SFD can be defined as the intentional use of sport, play, or physical activity to support the achievement of development objectives.For instance, recent research suggests that about 17% of programmes focus on the more broadly defined area of livelihoods [20]. Typically, programmes in this area use sport as a hook to attract vulnerable youth or those not in employment or education (NEETS). Once in the programme, these organisations combine sport, skill building and workshops to (re)direct youth towards employment or further education opportunities [1,3]. As such, these programmes can be broadly said to address individual factors related to employability, such as competences, well-being and job-seeking skills. To some extent, due to the interactive and social nature of many of these programmes, they may contribute to developing social relationships as well.

Despite the growing relevance of this approach, there has been limited research regarding the contribution of SFD programmes to youth employability [21], and existing research paints a mixed picture. For instance, Spaaij and colleagues [22], in a study of two European-based programmes, highlight how programmes struggle to provide stable, well-paid employment and address more structural issues around employability while still recognising the positive impacts on individual participants. Likewise, more recent work shows that some programmes may not have well-defined outcomes nor a clear concept of how a programme may contribute to those outcomes [23]. Nonetheless, the existing literature points to participants developing a variety of soft or professional skills [24–26], though there remains a need to align those skills with job market requirements and to consider personal or external factors [27].

References

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2. McQuaid, R.W.; Lindsay, C. The Concept of Employability. Urban Studies 2005, 42, 197–219, doi:10.1080/0042098042000316100.

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23. Commers, T.; Theeboom, M.; Coalter, F. Exploring the design of a sport for employability program: A case study. Front. Sports Act. Living 2022, 4, doi:10.3389/fspor.2022.942479.

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