The key to employability: developing a practical model of graduate employability

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce a straightforward, practical model of employability that will allow the concept to be explained easily and that can be used as a framework for working with students to develop their employability. Design/methodology/approach – The model was developed from existing research into employability issues and the experience of the authors. The various elements of employability included in the model are discussed and their inclusion justified on the basis of existing research. Findings – The model sets out exactly what is meant by employability, in clear and simple terms, and the model suggests directions for interaction between the various elements. Research limitations/implications – The relationships between and the interaction of the elements within the model remain theoretical. Further research to test the model is planned and will be reported on at a later date. Practical implications – The model can be used to explain the concept of employability to those new to the subject, and particularly to students and their parents. It will be a useful tool for lecturers, personal tutors, careers advisors and any other practitioners involved in employability activities. It will also be used to develop a measurement tool for employability. Originality/value – This paper seeks to fill the gap between in-depth, scholarly and complex articles or books about employability and very simple descriptive articles. It will be of value to anybody with an interest in employability issues

Moving from conceptual ambiguity to operational clarity: Employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship in higher education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the terms “employability”, “enterprise” and “entrepreneurship” are currently being used, often interchangeably, within higher education, and to propose how to clarify this issue with the terminology. Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken is to discuss the three terms and some of their current conceptualisations and suggest ways to clarify the terminology. Possible methods of operationalising the three concepts within higher education are also suggested. Findings – Employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship are high on the agendas of many higher education institutions. There is a crucial need for agreement on definitions particularly when strategies are being implemented. It is suggested that currently the terminology is often used carelessly and interchangeably, resulting in confusion for HE staff, students and employers. Originality/value – The paper offers a clear way of defining the concepts and will be of value to anybody with an interest in employability, enterprise or entrepreneurship within higher education

Teaching emotional intelligence and emotional self-efficacy in higher education

Emotional Intelligence is a widely researched topic with established associations between health, wellbeing and work-related outcomes. The concept of Emotional Self-Efficacy is a relatively recent, but potentially important, addition to the emotional intelligence literature. Despite the interest in this area there are very few empirical studies that demonstrate it is possible for people to increase their levels of emotional competence. The study discussed in this paper involved the design, delivery and evaluation of an undergraduate teaching intervention that aimed to do this. The findings show that it is possible to increase Emotional Self-Efficacy and some aspects of Emotional Intelligence ability. Providing students in Higher Education with opportunities to develop their competence in this area will be beneficial both for their experiences whilst at university and their future employability as graduates entering the workforce

Revisiting the CareerEDGE model of graduate employability

It has been thirteen years since the publication of the article that introduced the CareerEDGE model of graduate employability. During this time, there have been many changes in Higher Education and the graduate employment market, which raises the question, is the CareerEDGE model still relevant in 2020? This article looks back at the development of the model and the complementary questionnaire, the Employability Development Profile and evaluates their global impact. It also considers any criticisms and explores some other employability-related concepts for inclusion in a model of graduate employability development

Emotional Intelligence and Graduate Employability

This thesis explores the role played by emotional intelligence (EI) in graduate employability. It also investigates whether or not it is possible to teach EI within a Higher Education (HE) environment in order to develop these abilities in undergraduate students and enhance their employability potential. To evaluate possible measures for this research, Study 1 investigated the underlying dimensionality of a new self-report measure of EI, the Emotional Self- Efficacy Scale (ESES) and its relationship with more established measures of individual differences: ability EI, trait EI, personality and cognitive ability. Participants included 822 undergraduate students and 263 graduates already in the workplace. Analysis of the data suggested a multi-dimensional factor structure for the ESES which could be used as a reliable measure of emotional self-efficacy (ESE). The results of the study were also interpreted as offering support to theoretical models of ESE that propose a difference between people’s actual emotional skills (ability EI) and their judgments of these abilities. From the findings of Study 1 the measure was deemed appropriate for use in Studies 2 and 3. Study 2 investigated the relationship between ESE and graduate employability. The ESES was used, together with measures of employability and career satisfaction. These were completed by 306 graduates in the workplace and the data analysed using structural equation modelling. ESE was found to be an important predictor of graduate employability. Additionally, employability was found to mediate the relationship between ESE and career satisfaction. Previous theoretical work has proposed that adaptive emotional functioning is a key element in the development of graduate employability. This study is the first to provide empirical evidence of this relationship and some recommendations in light of these findings are proposed. There is evidence to suggest that EI is an important predictor of health, wellbeing and, more importantly for this research, a number of employability-related outcomes. Study 2 established that ESE is also an important predictor of graduate employability. Study 3 investigated whether or not it is possible to teach and develop EI and ESE in undergraduate students who will shortly join the graduate working population. An innovative intervention delivered through a taught undergraduate module based on established EI theory was developed. This was delivered to 66 undergraduate students, who completed measures of ability EI and ESE at pre and post intervention. The study included a control group of students who participated in a different taught module and provided comparative pre and post intervention data. The findings demonstrate that it is possible to improve both ability EI and ESE in young adults, through teaching and learning strategies aimed at increasing knowledge and understanding of emotional functioning. This is the first study to design, deliver and evaluate an ability EI and ESE intervention for UK based undergraduate students. The findings from Studies 2 and 3 provide support for the idea that ability EI and ESE can be taught within HE with the resultant positive implications for graduate employability

Trajectories of university adjustment in the United Kingdom: Emotion management and emotional self-efficacy protect against initial poor adjustment

Little is known about individual differences in the pattern of university adjustment. This study explored longitudinal associations between emotional self-efficacy, emotion management, university adjustment, and academic achievement in a sample of first year undergraduates in the United Kingdom (N=331). Students completed measures of adjustment to university at three points during their first year at university. Latent Growth Mixture Modeling identified four trajectories of adjustment: (1) low, stable adjustment, (2) medium, stable adjustment, (3) high, stable adjustment, and (4) low, increasing adjustment. Membership of the low, stable adjustment group was predicted by low emotional self-efficacy and low emotion management scores, measured at entry into university. This group also had increased odds of poor academic achievement, even when grade at entry to university was controlled. Students who increased in adjustment had high levels of emotion management and emotional self-efficacy, which helped adaptation. These findings have implications for intervention

Developing Graduate Employability: The CareerEDGE Model and the Importance of Emotional Intelligence

This chapter discusses a model of graduate employability development, the CareerEDGE model (Dacre Pool and Sewell 2007) which includes Emotional Intelligence (EI) as a key component. Although previous models and theories of employability (e.g. Fugate et al. 2004; Knight and Yorke 2004) have alluded to adaptive emotional functioning as an aspect of employability, CareerEDGE was the first to give EI such prominence. There is scope for EI to have a direct impact on graduate employability but also an indirect impact via other aspects of employability development