Recent Issues of Employability and Career Management

Abstract

At the threshold of a Fourth Industrial Revolution, a combination of factors will cause business model disruptions triggering a simultaneous impact on the employment landscape over the coming years. The changes will affect the employment scenery across various industries, ranging from significant job creation to job displacement, and from heightened labor productivity to widening skills gaps. As a reaction to this volatile and unpredictable work environment, where individuals are compelled to mind their own careers and stable long-term employment is not granted for anyone, vocational psychology, educational institutions and educators are urged to address the issues of employability.The current paper discusses the reasons leading up to the evolving world of employment and the stances/options that institutions and individuals can take to tackle the situation.

A personal construct approach to employability: comparing stakeholders’ implicit theories

“…Voluntary turnover literature displays the importance of this issue for employers, with commitment playing a crucial role in the understanding of this behaviour (Ahmad and Rainyee, 2014;Aluwihare-Samaranayake et al, 2018). Nevertheless, the well-documented shift from jobs-for-life to protean and boundaryless careers emphasise the lack of long-term commitment on the part of the employer, with workers often being made to feel disposable (Drago, 1996;Horváth, 2017). Thus, the present data suggest employees must demonstrate their commitment regardless of a context which may not be prepared for this to be reciprocated.…”

Validation of a Portuguese version of the multidimensional measure of employability

“…The concept of employability has become increasingly relevant in today's rapidly changing labor market (Blustein, 2017), defined by the instability and unpredictability of the current career paths (Taveira et al., 2017). The characteristics of contemporary societies emphasize that individuals' career development is intricately linked with the social, political, economic, and cultural context (Horváth, 2017). In this regard, the global pandemic has had a profound impact on the labor market, leading to widespread job loss, economic uncertainty, and increased competition for employment opportunities (Akkermans et al., 2020).…”