Development and validation of the short-form employability five-factor instrument

Abstract

A 22-item short-form of the 47-item Employability Five-Factor instrument (Van der Heijde & Van der Heijden, 2006; Van der Heijden, De Lange, Demerouti, & Van der Heijde, 2009) was developed and validated across five empirical survey studies. The Short-Form Employability instrument has consistent and acceptable internal consistencies and a similar factor structure across all samples studied. The outcomes favor a five-dimensional operationalization of the employability construct over a one-dimensional higher-order construct, with good discriminant validity of the underlying employability dimensions. Moreover, since the five dimensions of employability all appeared to be significantly related to both objective and subjective career success outcome measures, the predictive validity of the shortened tool is promising. The Short-Form Employability instrument facilitates further scientific HRM and career research without compromising its psychometric qualities.