Developing a processual employability model to provide education for career self-management

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to introduce a practical model for the evaluation and adaptation of educational programmes in order to incorporate employability development focussed on enabling graduates to self-manage their career.Design/methodology/approachThe model integrates several perspectives on and conceptualisations of the nature of employability and its development. The integration of various elements is justified on the basis of existing research and the experience of local educational practitioners.FindingsThe model integrates insights from the Graduate Employability Development model (Harvey et al., 2002), the CareerEDGE model (Dacre Pool and Sewell, 2007), the Career Management Employability model (Bridgstock, 2009) and adopts three career competencies as outcome indicators (Akkermans et al., 2013). The resulting model describes in simple terms what educational practitioners may adapt in the process of employability development to enhance the ability of prospective graduates to manage their own careers.Research limitations/implicationsThe model remains theoretical and the relations it implies require further validation. Involving graduates and students in evaluating the model may contribute to validating its scope and applicability.Practical implicationsThe model provides a practical tool to retrospectively and prospectively evaluate the institutional provision of employability development education. It may serve as a basis for adaptation to other programmes.Originality/valueBy adopting a processual perspective on employability, the model shifts away from the possession of a predefined set of characteristics, and towards enabling students to actively influence their own employability.