The Development, Validation, and Application of a Perceived Future Employability Scale for Young Adults: Examining the Role of Perceived Future Employability in Career Development

Abstract

This PhD project has three objectives: (a) develop and validate a new scale to measure perceived future employability for young adults; (b) explore antecedents and consequences of perceived future employability in a cross-sectional mediation (i.e., future perceived employability → career goal discrepancy → well-being/performance) and moderation (i.e., future perceived employability → well-being/performance moderated by goal importance) models, in Australian young adults; and (c) test a perceived future employability model in a cross-sectional model using social cognitive career theory (i.e., perceived future employability → career self-efficacy and outcome expectation → career outcome variables). Study 1 describes the development and initial validation of a new scale to access young adults’ perceptions of their future employability. I defined perceived future employability as young people’s current perceptions of their future skills, expected experience, anticipated networks, accumulated personal traits, future labour market knowledge, and predicted institutional reputation at the time of completing their formal education, when they are on the verge of joining the labour market. In Phase 1, I conducted an expert review to gain feedback from experts regarding the item pool that I created based on a systematic literature review and focus group discussion. In Phase 2, I conducted exploratory factor analyses to reduce the number of items using data from a university student sample (N = 324, 62.3% female, mean age 20.77 years). In Phase 3, confirmatory factor analyses tested the initial structure using data from a second sample of university students (N = 250, 83.2% female, mean age 21.18 years). In Phase 4, construct validity was examined by correlating scale scores with measures of career ambition, university commitment, and career distress. Applying this standard scale development approach, I produced initial validation for a reliable 24-item scale, with 4 items for each of 6 domains, which covered: (a) perceived future network, (b) perceived expected experiences; (c) perceived future personal characteristics, (d) anticipated reputation of educational institution; (e) perceived future labour market knowledge; and (f) perceived future skills. This study has been published in the Journal of Career Assessment and presented at the National Career Development Association (NCDA) Conference, 2018. Study 2 examined several important personal and situational antecedents (career calling, strategies, encouragement, proactivity) and outcomes (career planning, performance, satisfaction) to perceived future employability, and tested whether perceived future employability mediated these person and situational variables and career outcomes. Responses from a sample of young adults (N = 324, 62.3% female, mean age 20.77 years), revealed that: (a) career calling, strategies, proactivity, and encouragement were related to perceived future employability, (b) perceived future employability was related to career planning, performance, and satisfaction, and (c) perceived future employability mediated the association of career calling, strategies, encouragement, and proactivity with career satisfaction, but not with career planning or performance. I discuss the importance of having an optimistic perception about perceived future employability. This study was submitted to the Journal of Vocational and Educational Guidance and presented at the 1st Conference of Asia Pacific Academy for Psychosocial Factors at Work, 2018. Study 3 used social cognitive career theory as a framework to examine the mediating effects of career self-efficacy and outcome expectancy on the association between perceived future employability and career outcomes of career distress, career effort, and career aspirations. Responses from a sample of young adults (N = 449, 78% female, mean age 21.07 years), revealed that: (a) perceived future employability was associated with career self-efficacy and outcome expectancy, (b) career self-efficacy and outcome expectancy were associated with career distress, career effort, and career aspiration, and (c) career self-efficacy and outcome expectancy mediated perceived future employability with career distress, career effort, and career aspiration. Effectiveness of positive perceptions of future employability to enhance career self-efficacy and outcome expectancy are discussed. This study has been submitted to the Journal of Career Development.