Tackling youth Unemployment through sport (original) (raw)
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The potential value of sport as a vehicle through which urban regeneration and social renewal policy can be delivered has been extensively examined. However, there are an increasing number of initiatives aiming to use sports-based programs as a way to address worklessness and social exclusion amongst young people which have received less attention. This paper provides a critical comparative analysis of two such programs, one based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and the other in Stoke-on-Trent in the UK. Using qualitative data collected from participants, staff and other stakeholders, the paper details the nature and perceived merits of the programs before considering the limitations and constraints of welfare-to-work initiatives using sport. The paper concludes by suggesting a fundamental shift in policy discourse is required for such programs to be able to achieve sustainable positive outcomes for workless young people with multiple problems and needs.
BMC Public Health, 2014
Background: Sport participation has been associated with improved life prospects such as academic performance and employability prospects. As such, promoting sport participation might be a way to increase life prospects, especially for socially vulnerable youth because they are less physically active than their peers. However, the evidence for the causal effect of sport participation on these outcomes is still limited and little is known about factors that play a role in this possible effect. The aim of this study is four-fold. First, the causal effect of sport participation on life prospects is studied and the underlying mechanisms of this relation are explored. Secondly, the life experiences of the youngsters in the sport context, that may contribute to skill development, are studied. Thirdly, social conditions for a positive effect are explored, as sport is likely to have a positive effect under specific conditions. Fourthly, this study aims to provide insights on the elements of successful partnerships between youth care organisations and local sport clubs.
JOURNAL OF HUMAN KINETICS AND SPORTS SCIENCE, 2021
Sports has proved to be an appropriate means to profitably engage the growing population of the unemployed youth as it provides variety of job opportunities. Hence, this paper examined youth awareness and employment potentials of sports in Ebute Mette Local Government Area of Lagos State. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 150 respondents from three geographical zones Ebute Mette Local Government Area. Stratified sampling technique was adopted to select sample for the study. A structured questionnaire drawn on a 4-point Likert scale was used to collect data from the respondents. The result showed that awareness of the youth of employment potentials of sports will reduces unemployment in Ebute Metta and that employment potentials in sports industries will significantly reduce unemployment in Ebute Metta. It was further established that professional sports career has substantial financial gain to influence the reduction of unemployment in Ebute Metta. Based on the findings, the study, it was concluded that a significant relationship exists between employment opportunity in sports industry and unemployment in Ebute Metta Local Government Area of Lagos State. Also, there is a significant relationship between employment opportunity in sports industry and unemployment in Ebute Metta Local Government Area of Lagos State. Therefore, the study recommended first, that sports career opportunities should be made accessible to the unemployed youth through community-based programmes. Secondly, the study recommended that the government, through the national and state association, should properly and objectively promote and market sports so as to lure private sectors to sponsor sporting events at grassroot. Finally, the study recommended that the government and all sporting bodies should identify strategies of engaging and empowering the unemployed through sports opportunities being made available to the youth.
IP innovative publication pvt. ltd, 2019
Youth unemployment around the world poses a major challenge to today’s societies. One of the basic functions of education is to cultivate people to meet the needs of the labour market. Employability has been a challenge for graduates of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) due to their failure to meet the current labour market expectations. Human capital theory assumes that education determines the marginal productivity of labour, and that marginal productivity determines earnings. Those who attend university and obtain graduate-level status will, according to the theory, reap benefits for themselves and for the wider society, due to the skills and knowledge they can offer. Secondary data was used to collect data from various published sources. It was found that engagement in sport is viewed as a sound investment from the perspectives of various groups, with examples highlighting how sport provided ‘added value’ beyond subject-specific qualifications. Skills that graduates described that they had gained from sport were the same skills that employers said that they were looking for in prospective employees. Despite the importance of sports students are facing a number of challenges when wishing to engage themselves in sports.
The role of sports participation on graduate employability
Youth unemployment around the world poses a major challenge to today's societies. One of the basic functions of education is to cultivate people to meet the needs of the labour market. Employability has been a challenge for graduates of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) due to their failure to meet the current labour market expectations. Human capital theory assumes that education determines the marginal productivity of labour, and that marginal productivity determines earnings. Those who attend university and obtain graduate-level status will, according to the theory, reap benefits for themselves and for the wider society, due to the skills and knowledge they can offer. Secondary data was used to collect data from various published sources. It was found that engagement in sport is viewed as a sound investment from the perspectives of various groups, with examples highlighting how sport provided 'added value' beyond subject-specific qualifications. Skills that graduates described that they had gained from sport were the same skills that employers said that they were looking for in prospective employees. Despite the importance of sports students are facing a number of challenges when wishing to engage themselves in sports.
Exploring the design of a sport for employability program: A case study
Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
Rates of young people who are neither in employment, education, or training (NEET) are fairly high in the European Union. Correspondingly, there has been a growing tendency to regard sport as a suitable tool to develop soft skills and raise NEETs' level of employability. However, if and how such sport for employability (SfE) programs are able to realize these major claims has been called into question. The purpose of the present study was, therefore, to explore how an actual SfE initiative constructs and delivers its program. In addition, the article assessed whether the investigated program operates in line with researchers' recent calls for theory-based approaches. Guided by a case study approach set up within an initiative located in Flanders, data were gathered through 12 semi-structured interviews with 8 program providers. Results, analyzed using thematic analysis, indicated that the program was characterized by an absence of well-defined desired outcomes, imprecision a...
International Journal of Cultural Policy, 2019
The role of sport and cultural practices in policy initiatives tends to be assessed in both cases in terms of their assumed social benefits. However, the areas of sport and culture are often understood separately in research. Through an analysis of interviews with key local policy-makers and civil servants in two Swedish municipalities, the aim of this article is to explore how sport and culture are formed as means to promote social policy objectives regarding young people. In addition, we reflect on the political significance of this in relation to the development of local policy. The analysis demonstrates how a discourse of urban segregation and unequal opportunities underpins actions to mobilise non-participant and at-risk youth. This is achieved by establishing centres for sport and culture, and by enabling an educational approach which focuses on participation, empowerment and good citizenship. Reasons for mobilising practices involving culture and sport overlap, though each area of policy appears to be differently underpinned by discourses of enlightenment and conformity. Differences in emphasis between the discourses on sport and culture are discussed in relation to scientific discourse on the social utility of each policy area. ARTICLE HISTORY
Sport, Poverty and Education; policy briefing
Access to sport can alter life chances and advance educational achievement. Sport provides for both formal and informal education. The potential of sport to improve lives, help with the means to escape poverty and enhance educational achievement has yet to be fully realised and understood in Scotland. Sport can be a multi-faceted force for change and have far-reaching and multiple influences. It can help peoples’ development, raise aspirations, and be a source of hope across different demographics in society. The briefing concludes with a series of recommendations.
Supporting employability through sport: what kind of training?
Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
Training, as a core device in the projects that use sport to increase employability, is today a much-cited element in papers in the sector. However, there seems to be little research that specifically delves into training processes. This contribution analyses the state of the art on the subject, focusing on the characteristics of the training courses mentioned in literature, highlighting some recurring critical issues. A proposal, which considers the limitations discussed above, is formulated as a result of this analysis. More specifically, we introduce, as a contribution to the debate, a training model for team sports coaches developed within the EU Erasmus + sport project SBSMED. Theoretical assumptions, methodology, contents and assessment methods of training effectiveness will be explained, highlighting valuable elements and the open issues that emerge from this experience.