Discussing employability: current perspectives and key elements from a bioecological model

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the concept of employability. It reviews and systematizes the two main current perspectives about employability, the individual and the critical. The individual perspective is dominant and currently determines the term; its basic premise is that an individual is responsible for his/her socio-professional career. By contrast, the critical perspective deconstructs the former concept and analyzes its role in maintaining the status quo. Design/methodology/approach Through a review of literature about employability this paper analyses the different conceptions and the consequences of the assumption of each perspective nowadays. Findings This paper provides an analytical framework of all the key elements involved in the notion of employability based upon the bioecological model (Bronfenbrenner and Morris, 2006). This model offers a vision that encompasses the different explanatory elements of the employability concept. Originality/value The ultimate goal of this paper is to rekindle the debate on employability and to do so, it is necessary to explore the origins of the concept, the contexts it affects, who it benefits and, conversely, who it jeopardizes.

Work Volition and Career Adaptability as Predictors of Employability: Examining a Moderated Mediating Process

“…As such, employability is a construct built by the multi-dimensional properties of the interaction between an individual and the social environment. Llinares Insa et al [34] propose the need for a holistic vision based on the bioecological model, and systematize it into individual, organizational and contextual elements. They emphasize the simultaneous effect of these three elements on employability.…”

Employability Appraisal Scale (EAS): Development and Validation in a Spanish Sample

“…However, a critical perspective addresses the socio-historical nature of employability, and asserts that, by focusing on individual differences, the positions of power justify the exclusion of certain people and groups based on their particular characteristics (Lindsay and Serrano, 2009 ). Drawing on this critical perspective, we understand that employability would integrate individual and contextual variables, and we use the four components (proximal processes, biopsychological characteristics of a developing person, parameters of the ecological context, and the temporal dimension), proposed by Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Model of Employability (Llinares et al, 2016 ), to develop a holistic definition of employability.…”

“…This represents an important gap because some job skills needed to access employment are dependent on cultural, economic, and labor conditions. In this context, the Bioecological Model of Employability (Llinares et al, 2016 ) provides a holistic view that focuses not only on the individual's responsibility for his/her career development, but also on contextual factors. In this regard, employability can be seen as a transversal meta-competence that develops through a process that connects the whole person with the acquisition and maintenance of employment.…”

Women’s Job Search Competence: A Question of Motivation, Behavior, or Gender

“…This study relies on an integrative concept of employability ( Llinares et al, 2016 ), based on Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model ( Bronfenbrenner, 2005 ; Bronfenbrenner and Morris, 2006 ), and placing an emphasis on its four components: proximal processes, biopsychological characteristics of a developing person, the parameters of the ecological context, and the temporal dimension. This framework is characterized by considering employability as a meta-competence, but also as a socially constructed historical category subject to socio-historical and institutional factors.…”

“…This framework is characterized by considering employability as a meta-competence, but also as a socially constructed historical category subject to socio-historical and institutional factors. Currently, the debate on employability involves the definition of its components ( Rothwell et al, 2008 ), or the set of indicators ( Llinares et al, 2016 ) that make it possible to identify the competences to be developed, the learning contents to be transmitted, and the elements to be evaluated (for example, Buchmann, 2002 ; Fugate et al, 2004 ; McQuaid and Lindsay, 2005 ). One of the most widely used classifications is the one described by Fugate et al (2004) , which considers three key dimensions of employability: professional identity, personal adaptability, and human capital.…”