The Industry Employability Index: Taking account of supply and demand characteristics

A systematic review of current understandings of employability

“…Another significant contribution to our understanding of the employability context is the work of de Grip et al, (2004). Alongside a consideration of the individual's mobility, training and functional flexibility, this work presents a taxonomy of development that leads to changes in the demand for employability as presented by employers.…”

“…Adaptability as proactivity was discussed by Fugate et al, (2004) This aspect of psychological capital was further developed by de Grip et al, (2004) who conceptualised employability as three aspects of personal motivation to adapt; willingness to 'engage in training', willingness to 'be mobile' in reference to movement across job roles, and willingness to engage in 'functional flexibility' which brings this mobility into a consideration of current job role flexibility -seen as a method of developing capital. This emphasis on being functionally flexible to promote capacity to move beyond that role was later echoed by Thijssen et al, (2008) in which an individual's learning skills and mobility skills influence an individual's ability to broaden their capital and transition to other positions.…”

“…A review of the human resource development and economic literature by de Grip et al, (2004) concludes this 'clearly show [s] that it [an understanding of employability] has to encompass both individual and contextual factors ' (de Grip et al, 2004, p.212).…”

“…This work provides support, at the sector level, for the effect of demographic, economic, organisational and technological developments in obsolescing previous human capital and adding value to alternative human capital. For further details and illustrations of these contextual factors, the reader is advised to consider review of de Grip et al, (2004).…”

“…Nevertheless, definitions have varied in their incorporation of these above components as well as their consideration of other components such as job satisfaction, employer satisfaction, job success, maintaining and retaining employment, and employee potential (de Grip, van Loo, & Sanders, 2004;Fugate, Kinicki, & Ashforth, 2004;Hillage & Pollard, 1998;Van Der Heijde & Van Der Heijden, 2006). Indeed it may be considered naive to think that a single dominant definition of employability exists.…”