Lifelong Employability Research Articles

Decreasing employability with age? The role of automation risk, lifelong learning and occupational mobility

PurposeAs aging populations lead to longer working lives and increasing automation threatens job security, maintaining lifelong employability is becoming a fundamental challenge for many individuals. The purpose of this study is to examine how lifelong employability can be maintained. Design/methodology/approachBased on the theoretical perspectives of both movement capital and selection, optimization and compensation (SOC) theories, we used large-scale survey data (N = 2,256) from three European countries to investigate strategies for preserving employability among aging workers. Specifically, we explored the perceived risk of automation, lifelong learner characteristics and self-efficacy for occupational mobility as boundary conditions that may shape the negative relationship between age and employability.FindingsWe found a negative relationship between age and employability, which was more pronounced when the perceived risk of automation was higher. Furthermore, lifelong learner characteristics and self-efficacy for occupational mobility mitigated the negative relationship, so that age was not related to employability if people possessed lifelong learner characteristics and were ready for a career change.Originality/valueOur study implies the importance of investing in enhancing lifelong learner characteristics and self-efficacy for occupational mobility for older employees.

A Multi-Dimensional Inventory for Measuring Future Graduates’ Work Readiness

The present brief paper offers a multi-dimensional work readiness inventory for measuring future graduates’ work readiness. It also highlights the importance of career success and employability by identifying the 21 dimensions of work readiness. This paper provides a summary of how the study developed and validated the work readiness assessment inventory (WRAI) using a total of 1,076 university students in Singapore. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted to validate the WRAI. Using factorial analyses, this study examined the reliability and convergent validity of this inventory, suggesting that the WRAI could be used in universities and organisations to bridge the expectations of employees and employers. As there are limited numbers of studies which have developed and validated an inventory relating to work-ready attributes of graduates, the findings in this study can contribute significantly to research and practice areas regarding workforce development. Only by equipping our graduates with work-ready attributes, can they be competent and be confident in finding career success. This brief paper also contributes to labour policy by informing the key stakeholders that relevant work-ready attributes are important for career success and workplace transition which in turn relates to lifelong employability.

From lifelong learning to later life self-employment: a conceptual framework and an Israeli enterprise perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight important aspects of adopting a lifelong learning mindset as a way to improve entrepreneurial employability and self-employment capabilities among older workers, and to examine their practicality in enterprise services. Design/methodology/approach This paper takes a two-method research approach that synthesizes an original conceptual framework based on current gerontological and work psychology literature with qualitative organizational case study in the Israeli labor market. Findings The process of lifelong learning and accumulation of employability underpins a fulfilling career in self-employment later in life, through continuous self-acquisition of necessary knowledge and complementary skills. Adopting a lifelong learning mindset may contribute to older workers developing lifelong employability by self-realizing their meaningful life wisdom alongside becoming lifelong learners, and consequently, by becoming protean career owners capable of acquiring entrepreneurial competencies and skills. Program analysis of social and business enterprises established in Israel to meet the demand for the acquisition of later life skills demonstrates the various ways in which they play a role in supporting this process. Research limitations/implications The need for future research and practice on the conceptual framework presented in this paper is analyzed and discussed in the Israeli context. Originality/value This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion on third-age entrepreneurship, by conceptually linking the core concept of lifelong learning to entrepreneurial employability, and demonstrating its application in the Israeli work culture.

Adapting the Mauritian higher education system for effective workforce development

There has been an alarming rate of graduate unemployment in Mauritius over the past 5 years. The education system has been criticized for being too academic and not driven by the requirements of industry, leading to a skills mismatch. The Mauritian government has consequently announced several new schemes to boost employment and economic growth. This study analyses two innovative approaches for effective workforce development: a university–industry collaborative programme developed by Accenture Academy and the University of Mauritius and a dual apprenticeship scheme operated by the Université des Mascareignes in partnership with the Mauritius Exports Association (MEXA). MEXA has formed a partnership with UDM for providing customized training to its employees. The article also considers the National Human Resource Development Plan for Mauritius and other relevant studies. The main research question is whether the traditional system of higher education needs to be adapted in the light of the country’s ambition to emerge as a high-income economy by 2030. The study contributes to an understanding of how partnerships and collaboration can help to improve lifelong employability in the Mauritian context and how they may ultimately contribute to the reduction of graduate unemployment.

Based on Work Value to Discuss the Effect of College Students’ Corporate Internship on the Employability

Employment in enterprises is getting flexible and international in past years. Along with the stricter employment market, the employment of college graduates is concerned. When getting into workplace, university new graduates have to face fiercely international competition and rapidly changing industrial structure; the changing employment market is also encountering strict test. Employability has been the highly emphasized issue in advanced countries that the promotion of students’ employability is listed as a major objective in the educational reform of universities, where employability is listed as a core objective. Taking college graduating students in Hebei Province as the empirical objects in this study, 297 valid copies of questionnaire are retrieved, with the retrieval rate 83%. The research results conclude 1.corporate internship would affect work value, 2.corporate internship would influence employability, 3.work value presents significantly positive effects on attitude and ability in employability, 4.work value shows remarkably positive effects on planning and learning in employability, and 5.work value reveals notably positive effects on knowledge application in employability. According to the results, suggestions are proposed, expecting to enhance college students’ employment after the graduation and assist in the lifelong employability.

Learning Climate Perceptions as a Determinant of Employability: An Empirical Study Among European ICT Professionals.

This study investigated the role of age in the relationship between perceptions of learning climate and self- and supervisor-rated employability among European Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals. The psychological climate for learning was operationalized by three indicators, namely the perceptions that employees have of the learning value of their job, supervisor support for learning, and the organizational support for learning. As hypothesized, a Structural Equation Model demonstrated that the relationship between age and perceptions of learning climate was negative. The model also showed a strong positive relationship between learning climate and self-reported and supervisor-rated employability. Furthermore, learning climate perceptions appeared important for employability irrespective of life or career stage. An explorative bootstrapping-based test suggested that older workers with managerial responsibilities profit less from psychological learning climate for self-reported and supervisor-rated employability than older workers at non-managerial levels. These findings have important implications for human resource practices that aim to increase lifelong employability.

Returns on vocational education over the life cycle: Between immediate labour market preparation and lifelong employability

An important issue in the design of secondary-level education is the balance between conveying general and occupation-specific (vocational) skills. On the one hand, vocationally oriented programmes, providing occupation-specific skills with immediate labour market relevance, have repeatedly been shown to secure safe pathways into employment. On the other hand, these programmes tend to put less emphasis on developing general knowledge, skills and competencies, including numeracy and literacy, which are foundational to lifelong learning. Hence, when the needs of the labour market change, employees who opted for a vocational track when they were at secondary school risk being less flexible in adapting to such changes later in their career. The authors of this article examine whether this results in a trade-off between short-term gains and long-term losses by considering differences in the labour market careers of vocationally and generally educated respondents in the 2012 Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). Their results suggest that early labour market benefits of vocational specialisation decrease over time; the authors relate this to its lower ability to equip secondary school students – future employees – with skills for lifelong learning.

Graduate Employability Agenda and Inculcation of Soft Skills in Higher Education

The paper focuses on the what, why and how of the "employability agenda” and inculcation of soft skills in higher education based upon a review of relevant literature and a recent questionnaire survey conducted by the author. It begins by providing an overview of the growing concern for graduate employability and soft skills in higher education. The paper subsequently delves into the importance of soft skills, soft skills sought by Malaysian employers, soft skills lacking in Malaysian graduates, soft skills needed by Malaysian graduates to enhance their employability in the twenty-first century workplace, core components of lifelong employability, and the need for a paradigm shift in higher education pertaining to the employability agenda. The paper ends with discussing the most common approaches to developing soft skills among graduates and making recommendations for implementing the employability agenda in higher education institutions.

Oudere werknemers in het MKB

Summary Older workers in SME’s Summary Older workers in SME’s In this article we describe how life-long employability in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Netherlands has been advanced in practice and which policies are possible in these organizations. An employee who is employable for life is defined as someone who is competent, engaged, satisfied and vital. These employees are and remain valuable for their employers. We find that the smaller the firm, the fewer measures and facilities for life-long employability there are. In general, engagement and satisfaction of employees are high, but there is insufficient attention for personnel development and health of employees in SMEs.We developed a model for an adaptation policy to give an overview what SMEs can do to advance long-life employability. The model consists of a mixture of ‘dispensation measures’ on the one hand, and developmental measures on the other, that can be customized to suit the employee. Not only large organizations can make use of these measures and facilities, SMEs can do so too.

Media portrayals of older employees: a success story?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of how portrayals of older employees in mass media messages can help combating stereotypical beliefs on their employability. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a systematic review of empirical studies on mass media portrayals of older employees in order to show what these reveal about the ways in which their employment status, occupation, job type, or work setting is portrayed. The approach builds upon theory on media portrayals, media effects, and stereotypes of older workers’ employability. Findings – This study shows that older employees in media portrayals, when present at all, are relatively often shown in higher-level professional roles, herewith overall, depicting an image that is positive, yet differs from stereotypical beliefs on their employability that are prevalent in working organizations. Research limitations/implications – Further empirical work is needed to more safely conclude on the prevalence of age-related portrayals of work and employment in mass media. In addition, longitudinal research is called for in order to better understand the possible causes for the way in which older employees are portrayed, as well as effects of age-related stereotyping in mass media and corporate communication outlets over time. Practical implications – This research sparks ideas about how new portrayals of older employees in mass media and corporate communication outlets can contribute to novel approaches to managing an aging and multi-generational workforce. Social implications – This study shows how working organizations can make use of the positive and powerful media portrayals of older employees, in order to activate normal and non-ageist behaviors toward them, and herewith, to increase their life-long employability. Originality/value – This study highlights the role of media portrayals of older employees in combating stereotypes about their employability.

Us Advanced Manufacturing Skills Gap: Innovative Education Solutions

US Manufacturing's future lies in educating new generations for skill-intensive manufacturing jobs involving STEM and computing. The paper covers manufacturing from workforce perspectives; educational and other causes for decline, and two educational innovations, chosen for their potential to facilitate US Manufacturing's growth, and with it the US economy: Massive Open Online Courses (“MOOCs”) and Stackable Credentials/Credits. Separately and together each could hold a key to lifelong employability at acceptable wage levels for professionals who fill the US manufacturing workforce gap, revealing the gap, at its heart, to be one in education, which the innovations discussed here, could help alleviate.

Communicating Employability Enhancement Throughout the Life-Span: A National Intervention Program Aimed at Combating Age-Related Stereotypes at the Workplace

The stimulation of lifelong employability of employees is one of today's challenges in all sectors of the Dutch society. In this article, we will outline the historical context of the life-long employability issue in the Netherlands, and provide an overview of current business responses to the issue. We will discuss key obstacles for improving older workers' employability: the current economic situation, contra-productive aspects of collective labor agreements or legislation, and negative stereotypes about skills and capacities of older workers that are prevalent in working organizations. We will propose a national intervention program communicating employability enhancement aimed at (a) combating age-related stereotypes about older employees in working organizations; (b) increasing the proportion of (highly) employable older employees; and (c) improving corporate performance outcomes. A strong asset of the intervention program is that it is rooted in the alignment of two bodies of knowledge: literature on the dimensional Stereotype Content Model developed in social psychology literature, and theoretical notions and empirical research on sustainable employability developed in management science literature. The national intervention program includes a screening instrument by which all communication outlets in working organizations are analyzed. In addition, the program incorporates a translation of academic knowledge and empirical evidence on the employability of older workers into a self-test inventory and a communication guideline. The intervention is part of a national approach that is prescribed by the government and (non-) adherence is rewarded or sanctioned. The intervention program's outcomes are monitored by means of empirical research.

Can training teachers stimulate career learning conversations? Analysis of vocational training conversations in Dutch secondary vocational education

In present-day society students are no longer expected to learn for stable employment, but for lifelong employability. This implies a major shift in educational approach. Previous research has shown which characteristics of learning environments correlate with students’ competences to self-direct their careers, but until now this had not inspired intervention studies. Following a baseline measure (reported in Winters et al. 2009), we studied vocational training conversations during the transition to competence-based education in the Netherlands and more specifically before and after a specific teacher training. Results show a significant shift in the organisation of career learning conversations as a result of the teacher training, but also highlight the difficulty of actual behavioural change in educational reform.

Age effects on the employability–career success relationship

This study investigated the similarity of the factor structure for self-reported versus supervisor-rated employability for two age groups of workers, and then validated a career success enhancing model of employability across the two age groups. The results confirmed a two-factor model including self-reported and supervisor-rated employability as underlying factors. Moreover, Multi-Group Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) indicated that for the youngsters both self- and supervisor ratings of employability related significantly to objective career success outcomes. However, for the over-forties self-rated employability related positively to promotions throughout the career, while the supervisor ratings related negatively to overall promotions. The findings have important implications for performance appraisal practices aimed at increasing life-long employability and career success.

Toward the Employability—Link Model: Current Employment Transition to Future Employment Perspectives

This article goes into a critical analysis of the concept of employability, its development across historical periods, its components, and different strategic approaches to enhance workers' employability throughout their career. Given the need for a systematic analysis and more empirical research in the field, the authors come up with the so-called employability—link model that is aimed to guide future practitioners and researchers as far as their specific choices as regard core components of the concept that ought to be made. The article concludes with a thorough onset of possible future research questions that are assumed to be of importance given the current labor market situation. The employability—link model has implications for individual and organizational career interventions aimed at increasing life-long employability.

GETTING TO THE HEART OF ASSESSMENT: THE LIBERAL STUDIES/PROFESSIONAL SKILLS PROGRAM AT INVER HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

The Liberal Studies/Professional Skills (LS/PS) program began with the intent to develop an assessment process that would provide immediate benefits to students and faculty. For students, we wanted to be able to provide them with information about the skills they master while they complete their course work. Underlying this intent was the belief that students need something more than a list of courses completed and grades earned (their transcripts) - that they needed to be able to verify their competencies. For faculty, the intent was to support and challenge faculty to design assignments, projects, and tests that would teach and assess students' "critical thinking and doing" skills. The beliefs, here, were that positive change in pedagogy comes through a sustained faculty development program that focuses on learning outcomes and that assessment can be a meaningful process that enhances students' learning when the focus is on the design of assignments that lead to measurable learning outcomes. Out of these intents and beliefs came the multi-faceted Liberal Studies/Professional Skills program. These components are: a Skills Profile that reports each student's proficiency in the "critical thinking and doing "skills" a template of Essential Skills; rubrics that establish the performance standards; an electronic database to record student performance; an LS/PS web site that houses the skills templates, the rubrics, electronic database, and program information; faculty collaboration through a sustained faculty development program. The tangible benefit for students is the Skills Profile, a companion to a student's transcript that provides verification and documentation of those skills that a student has mastered, the standards that the student met, and the product or activity that demonstrated that mastery. The Essential Skills are ten broad skills areas that have been identified as the skills which - combined with the knowledge that comes with a college education - will provide students with the basis for lifelong learning, citizenship, and employability in contemporary society and business. Because our theme in explaining the LS/PS program to students is Distinguish Yourself, we do not intend all students will master all of these skills - nor do we expect faculty to teach and assess all of these skills. Instead, faculty begin work in the LS/PS program by determining which skills from this basic list they already include in their courses, and work later to refine or expand their teaching and assessing of these skills through collaboration with other faculty on assignment design and evaluation standards. The Skills Profile provides students with a record of the particular strengths they developed. Faculty worked together to create rubrics - specific standards of assessing the learning outcomes in the five subcategories and developmental levels of each of the Essential Skills. Each of the rubrics has four levels of performance criteria - defining the acceptable and unacceptable levels of performance. The most important part of LS/PS is a sustained faculty development program focused on assignment design.

The bases of competence: Skills for lifelong learning and employability, by Frederick T. Evers, James C. Rush, and Iris Berdrow.

The bases of competence: Skills for lifelong learning and employability, by Frederick T. Evers, James C. Rush, and Iris Berdrow.

The engineer's guide to lifelong employability [Book Review

The engineer's guide to lifelong employability [Book Review

Capital Formation by Education

Capital Formation by Education