Employability as a compass for career success: development and initial validation of a new multidimensional measure

Abstract

This article reports the development and initial validation of a multidimensional measure of employability based on the theoretical model of Lo Presti and Pluviano (2016). Four different studies were designed and implemented. Study 1 was a qualitative study that involved a group of 15 labour market experts and aimed at developing the items pool. In Study 2, an exploratory factor analysis of 526 employees was carried out to examine the structure of the employability measure as previously obtained. Study 3 aimed at verifying the employability measure that had emerged from Study 2 through confirmatory factor analysis of 699 employees, resulting in a 28‐item shortened version encompassing the original four employability dimensions. Finally, in Study 4, concurrent and predictive validity of the definitive version of the employability measure were tested on a sample of 712 employees. Implications for vocational guidance and human resource management, as well as future employability research, are discussed.

Explaining Job Search Behavior in Unemployed Youngsters Beyond Perceived Employability: The Role of Psychological Capital

“…For example, in NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) population, unemployed people over 45 years or long-term unemployed people, also in favorable economic contexts. Besides, we have not hypothesized any relation between perceived employability and subjective norm, even when the social network is considered one of the components of some employability approaches ( Lo Presti et al, 2019 ). Future studies may put more emphasis on subjective norms as previous research has reported an association between the fact of receiving helpful and supportive messages from their close environment and job search intensity in Millenials ( Holmstrom et al, 2013 ; Smith, 2019 ).…”

The Impact of Career Insight in the Relation with Social Networks and Career Self-Management: Preliminary Evidences from the Italian Contamination Lab

“…The instrument used was composed by four sub-scales adapted from the Lo Presti et al [44] (human capital and professional development, social capital, career and knowledge of the world of work).…”

“…All the items adapted by Lo Presti et al [44] in the scales were scored on five points of Likert ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (completely), while the skills and entrepreneurial attitudes are measured by a Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all important) to 5 (absolutely necessary).…”

“…According to Lo Presti and Pluviano's model (2016) [4], the employability is a resource that help individuals to manage challenges, identifying and taking advantage of opportunities of the current labor market. One of the dimensions of employability is the career identity and self-management, which refers to the "awareness that individuals might have about their professional experience and the ability to make sense of them in line with specific present and future career objectives" [44]. In the recent literature about employability and career self-management there is no in-depth analysis on the impact of career insight in the relation between social networks and career self-management within higher education's courses.…”

“…From a practical point of view, it is essential to start by recognizing that Universities and entrepreneurship centers could support an "entrepreneurial journey" [44] by assisting the participants' conversion from university students to entrepreneurs on their journey from university to business through the implementation of entrepreneurship education initiatives.…”