The relationship between employability skills and career adaptability: a case of undergraduate students of the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS-Arabic form) and investigates the relationship between Emirati students' employability skills and their career adaptability in the workplace, against the backdrop of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0).Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted of 420 full-time, working and part-time students in their final year in the United Arab Emirates (UAEs).FindingsAs hypothesized, career adaptability is positively related to the employability skills of complex problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management and coordinating with others, even when controlling for demographic characteristics.Practical implicationsConsistent with career construction theory, this study presents evidence of the instrumental role of skills required for IR 4.0 in managing career resources and subjective career success. Understanding the relationship between IR 4.0 skills and career adaptability offers valuable insights for academia and policymakers on formulating strategies and action plans to continually update Emirati students' transferable skills. It is also crucial for long-term success in human capital sustainability under the Emiratization policy.Originality/valueThis study is a preliminary step toward clarifying the complex mechanism through which career adaptability relates to career outcomes and sustaining employability. Concentrating on UAE undergraduates, this study elucidates the relationship between employability skills and career adaptability, and advocates more research employing boundary conditions that might limit their effects on adapting behaviors.

Malay Translation and Validation of Career Adapt-Abilities Scale for Higher Learning Institution Students in Malaysia

“…More importantly, this study was conducted mainly to evaluate the psychometric properties of Malay CAAS to be used on students of higher learning institutions in Malaysia. The analyses were run twice and both Malay-CAAS24 and Malay-CAAS12 yielded good CFA, reliability, and validity, ensuring that CAAS-Malay is reliable and valid to be used among students in higher learning institutions, and the findings were supported by enormous research which studied the adaptation of CAAS in different languages (Akın et al, 2014;Atitsogbe et al, 2019;Cammarosano et al, 2019;Isik et al, 2018;Johnston et al, 2013;Khalid & Ahmad, 2021;McKenna et al, 2016;Pal & Jena, 2021;Panjaitan & Sahrah, 2020;Tien et al, 2012;van Vianen et al, 2012;Yu et al, 2020). Therefore, we concluded that CAAS-Malay is ready to be utilized by the Malaysian population, particularly undergraduates.…”

“…The study concluded that students with higher self-esteem are considered to be more career adaptive (Boyacı, 2019). Along the same line, students with high career adaptability are significantly connected with employability, specifically having complex problem-solving skills, are critical thinkers, creative, good management with people, and coordinating with others (Khalid & Ahmad, 2021).…”

Why executive board membership in academic clubs helps students get interviews

“…Transferable skills were mentioned and defined in every interview in a manner that is consistent with some scholars (e.g. Khalid and Ahmad, 2021): transferable skills were defined as abilities developed during an academic career that improve an individual's job performance soon after graduation. In contrast to employability skills that focus on skills that help individuals who already have jobs to change jobs (e.g.…”

Navigating an Uncertain Future

“…There is now persistent evidence to show that career adaptability resources are associated with adaptive response, i.e., cognitions and behaviors that address changing conditions, such as career beliefs, career planning and career exploration, as well as adaptation results, i.e., outcomes such as career commitment, employability, income, or subjective well-being (Johnston, 2018; Rudolph et al, 2017), even across different cultural contexts (Chen et al, 2020). For example, individuals with greater adaptability resources reported more effective career planning and proactive skill development (Taber & Blankemeyer, 2015) as well as employability (Khalid & Ahmad, 2021; Pajic et al, 2018).…”