Using the Living CV to help students take ownership of their learning gain

There is an increasing emphasis on embedding employability skills and experience within the higher education curriculum to address new concepts of ‘learning gain’ and the perceived student demand for a value for money experience. An exploratory study, at a southern university in the UK, found that students articulated an improved work readiness when they were presented the ‘Living CV’, an initiative that connects programme learning outcomes into CV outputs. During 2018, a larger, mixed methods study (n=127) was conducted across all three years of fashion degrees. Students completed a pre and post questionnaire before and after a presentation on the Living CV and their views were further explored in a focus group and interviews. Results found that the Living CV presentation heightened students’ awareness of the applicability of their programme learning to their future employability and how they could use their academic learning outcomes on their CV as a tool to achieve this. The study recommends that personalised and explicit coaching on ‘work literacy’ should be integrated into university programmes at all levels to include the Living CV, discussion about and experience in the world of work, increased employer engagement and preparation for interview

A profile of career beliefs among retired Australian athletes

Forty-eight former Australian athletes responded to a questionnaire regarding their retirement from sport. Current career beliefs, as well as perceptions of life skills learned in sport that are transferable to post-athletic career occupations, were assessed with an Australian-integrated version of the Career Beliefs Inventory (CBI; Krumboltz, 1993). Examination of CBI responses revealed several areas of career development that have particular relevance to elite athletes in Australia. Further analyses also demonstrated that the type of sport athletes participate in can have a significant impact on career development. Discussion of the findings are provided, followed by a section summarising the implications for professional practitioners. The article concludes with comments on future research directions in the area of career development in sport