Gary Evans, a new addition to the Bournemouth University Sports Management team, has recently been cited in The Sport & Physical Activity Industry Magazine (S&PA Professional), the magazine sent to all Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) members.

The article, which was part of the Education Issue, focuses on are universities that offer sporting degrees on the right track.

Gary argues that over the past ten years there has been a narrowing of the gap between what employees want and what graduates have to offer after leaving university.

Gary believes that this narrowing of the gap has come about through a combination of the Higher Education Academy’s excellent employability work and Higher Education Institutes collaboration with professional institutes such as CIMSPA.

“Higher Education Institutes are now using their employer networks more effectively to ensure the relevance of the circular they offer” says Gary “University career services are focusing on the employability needs of students, offering “graduate passports” – a record of achievement including extra-curricular activity and employability – and personal development planning / work placement modules”

“The best employability practice is to embed National Occupational Standards (NOS) into their undergraduate curricula”

Gary believes that by embedding the NOS and competencies and behaviours of a professional institute like CIMSPA, students will acquire the professional knowledge they need to be ready for the workplace.

Sport Management students will have access to the S & PA Professional magazine through Gary’s member status. However, if anyone would like to see the full PDF of this article please email ajones@bournemouth.ac.uk for a copy.