Career resources among higher education students: a mixed-method study

Abstract

Increased attention has been paid to the way Higher Education institutions contribute to the development of graduates’ employability. Such issue is particularly relevant in the light of the current uncertainty experienced in the labour market, particularly among younger people, that was recently exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. Building on the career resources framework, which integrates a set of resources that are expected to predict career success, including human capital resources, social capital, psychological resources and career identity resources, this study aims to explore the development of student’s career resources over their graduation courses and students’ perceptions about the contribution of their higher education degree for career success. For this purpose, a mixed-method explanatory sequential design was conducted. The career resources questionnaire was applied to 339 Spanish higher education students from a public university, and then 18 interviews were conducted. The results obtained allow us to conclude that career resources are generally malleable and developed throughout higher education studies. It is also possible to identify dimensions where students present more fragilities, namely those related to the exploration of knowledge related to future professional opportunities in their surrounding environment, and to establish some relation between individual characteristics and educational experiences and the development of career resources. Thus, this research adds knowledge to the identification of specific career resources that need more attention in higher education programs. Implications from this study are discussed, taking its potential to higher education institutions in interventions, in terms of curriculum, pedagogical and/or career counselling actions.