The route to employability: a longitudinal study on a sample of Italian job seekers

Alessandro Lo Presti,Monica Zaharie,Assunta De Rosa

doi:10.1007/s10775-021-09482-3

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the main predictors of employability, building on a recent conceptual model on employability developed by Lo Presti and Pluviano (Organ Psychol Rev 6(2): 192–211, 2016). Survey based data were collected from a sample of 263 Italian job-seekers through a longitudinal study. The results revealed that employability was more strongly determined by personal dispositions than by external factors, such as life circumstances and that the variables with the most impact were proactive personality, core self-evaluations, and educational level, rather than employability culture, family employability support, and previous work experience. The paper reveals an understanding of the relative importance of antecedents that determine employability.

Highlights

Unemployment and re-employment have always occupied a significant place in political, economic, and scholarly debate (Forrier et al, 2018)
Employability was positively predicted by educational level (β = .13, p = .035), core self-evaluations (β = .26, p < .001), and proactive personality (β = .26, p < .001), whilst the number of job roles (β = -.09, ns), employability culture (β = -.12, ns), and family employability support (β = .02, ns) were not significant predictors
Building on the model proposed by Lo Presti and Pluviano (2016), this study empirically tested the antecedents considered as potential influencing factors to achieving employability, namely training and work experiences, life events and circumstances, and personal dispositions

Summary

Introduction

Unemployment and re-employment have always occupied a significant place in political, economic, and scholarly debate (Forrier et al, 2018). In the last quarter of 2019, the unemployment rate in EU27 was 6.3%, with an a posteriori estimate of a rapid and dramatic deterioration caused by the Covid-19 pandemic’s economic effects. The three countries with the highest levels of unemployment in the EU27 are Greece (16.7%); Spain (14.2%), and Italy (9.7%) (Eurostat 2019). The effects of unemployment on individuals have been widely studied, as it has been associated with negative health consequences (Norström et al, 2019), increased anxiety, depression, and adverse effects on self-perception and physical health (McKee-Ryan et al, 2005). Studies with a preventive focus are of great importance

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