‘Am I employable?’: Understanding students' employability confidence and their perceived barriers to gaining employment

This paper addresses employability among undergraduate Marine Sport Science students' at a post-92 HE Institution in the UK, focusing on perceptions of their own employability and their confidence in gaining graduate employment after having careers education embedded within their programme. Mixed method surveys (69% of cohort/n=57) produced results that showed that Marine Sport Science students' perception of their employability increased year on year whilst conversely, confidence in gaining graduate employment decreased year on year. This was due to seven perceived barriers: competition, experience, location, degree quality, qualifications, economy and confidence. The ‘diving board theory’ was established explaining the juxtaposition of improving perceived employability alongside decreasing confidence in gaining employment.