Study on the minimum quality requirements for dual career services

Every year over 120.000 elite, talented athletes face multiple challenges in combining their sport with education or employment. These challenges persist in the transition to a new career after their sporting one has come to an end. If not done right, this is not only hard for the individual, but also a possible loss for society as a whole.

Conversely, a successful combination of education, training or work with sport can enable an individual to ‘reach his or her full potential in life’. This is known as a “Dual Career” (DC).

From March to November 2015 the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences in partnership with Birch Consultants, the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS), the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the European Student as Athlete (EAS) network conducted a study on 'Minimum Quality Requirements for Dual Career Services'.

The main objective of this study was to develop a set of requirements to function as a reference point for national DC services and facilities across the EU member states. The findings are presented in the form of a quality framework offering transparency, and quality, safety and security guarantees for athletes. This includes a labelling and/or accreditation system for facilities and services at national and European levels. Recommendations for future developments in both policy and research are also included.

For further information on the report, please contact: Cees Vervoorn, c.vervoorn@hva.nl

Title: Dual-career Quality framework
Authors: Marije Baart de la Faille - Deutekom, Cees Vervoorn en Dennis van Vlaanderen
Full report: click here