Development and validation of Chinese college students’ future employability scale

Abstract

COVID-19 and the pandemic-induced lockdowns juxtaposed against the surge in the number of college graduates have made the dilemma of “fierce competition and difficult employment” more real. The employment of college students has become a topic of serious concern in society. This study aimed to develop a Future Employability Scale for Chinese college students and evaluate its reliability and validity. Based on the analysis of the literature, the study developed the initial measurement scale of the college students’ future employability and calibrated the initial measurement and question volume based on experts’ feedback. First, the students’ group was measured, and data from 389 university students were collected and analyzed. Second, the data collection and verification factor analysis of 387 university students were collected and verified, and the internal consistency reliability, split-half reliability, and validity of the scale were evaluated. Further, 68 college students were selected to evaluate their test-retest reliability after an interval of one month. The Future Employability Scale of college students had 28 items covering four dimensions: knowledge skill, personality quality, interpersonal network, and career development. The reliability test found that the total scale of the Future Employability Scale and the internal consistency reliability, split-half reliability, and retest reliability of each dimension were good, and the validity test suggested that the scale had good content validity, structural validity, and calibration correlation validity. With a clear structure, good reliability, and validity, the Future Employability Scale is a good tool to measure the future employability of college students.