Non-degreed youth’s employability, career adaptability, and psychological capital at an educational institution

Keywords: career adaptability, employability, psychological capital, psychosocial career resources, Fourth Industrial Revolution

Abstract

Technological developments and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) make employability more important than employment. The youth are forced to adopt a protean career and constantly adjust their skills, knowledge and behaviour to maintain their employability and skills relevance. Psychosocial career resources assist them in coping with career challenges and setbacks through career adaptability and remaining employable. The study investigated the relationship between employability, career adaptability, and psychological capital amongst non-degreed youth at an educational institution. To cope with contemporary work environment demands, the youth must be equipped with the competencies and know-how to flex their careers appropriately. At the time of the study, no research had examined the relationship between employability, career adaptability and psychological capital. The study used a cross-sectional, quantitative, non-experimental research approach to explore the interrelatedness of the variables. The results demonstrated a strong, positive and significant relationship between employability and career adaptability; employability and psychological capital; and career adaptability and psychological capital. The relationship between employability and career adaptability was more conspicuous than the relationship between employability and psychological capital. Cultivating employability attributes, career adaptability, and psychological support may strengthen the youths’ self-perceived employability and improve how they adjust their careers according to work environment demands. The study explains how employability, career adaptability, and psychological capital relate. Its findings can be used to advance youth employability.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

J. Van Vuuren, University of South Africa, Pretoria

Department Industrial and Organisational Psychology

R. M. Oosthuizen, University of South Africa, Pretoria

Department of Industrial and Organisational Psychology

 

L. Steyn, University of South Africa, Pretoria

Department of Industrial and Organisational Psychology

 

References

Asbari, M., A. B. Prasetya, P. B. Santoso, and A. Purwanto. 2021. “From creativity to innovation: The role of female employees’ psychological capital.” International Journal of Social and Management Studies 2(2): 66–77. https://doi.org/10.5555/ijosmas.v2i2.18.

Avey, J. B., F. Luthans, and S. M. Jensen. 2009. “Psychological capital: A positive resource for combating employee stress and turnover.” Human Resource Management 48(5): 677–693. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.2029.

Avey, J. B., F. Luthans, R. M. Smith, and N. F. Palmer. 2010. “Impact of positive psychological capital on employee well-being over time.” Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 15(1): 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016998.

Babbie, E. R. 2021. The practice of social research. 15th Edition. Cengage Learning.

Bezuidenhout, M. L. 2011. “The development and evaluation of a measure of graduate employability in the context of the new world of work.”. Unpublished master’s dissertation, Department of Human Resource Management, University of Pretoria.

Bezuidenhout, M. L., E. C. Rudolph, and A. M. Furtak. 2019. “Self-perceived employability attributes of adult learners within an open distance learning environment.” Journal of Contemporary Management 16: 106‒139. https://doi.org/10.35683/jcm18025.0007.

Botha, D. 2021. “Self-perceived employability among undergraduate students at a South African university.” SA Journal of Human Resource Management 19(0). https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v19i0.1685.

Broad, J. D. and F. Luthans. 2020. “Positive resources for psychiatry in the fourth industrial revolution: Building patient and family-focused psychological capital (PsyCap).” International Review of Psychiatry 32: 542‒554. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2020.1796600.

Calvo, J. C. A. and G. M. Garcia. 2020. “The influence of psychological capital on graduates’ perception of employability: The mediating role of employability skills.” Higher Education Research and Development 40(4): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2020.1738350.

Chen, C. P. 2017. “Career Self-determination Theory.” In Psychology of Career Adaptability, Employability and Resilience, edited by K. Maree, 329–347. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66954-0_20.

Clarke, M. and M. Patrickson. 2007. “The new covenant of employability.” Employee Relations 30(2): 121–141. https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450810843320.

Coetzee, M. 2019. “A framework for assessing and developing self-regulatory positive psychological career attributes for sustained employability.” In Positive psychological intervention design and protocols for multicultural contexts, edited by L. Van Zyl and S. Rothmann, 217–240. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20020-6_10.

Coetzee, M. and L. Engelbrecht. 2019. “How employability attributes mediate the link between knowledge workers’ career adaptation concerns and their self-perceived employability.” Psychological Reports 0(0): 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294119844981.

Coetzee, M. and N. Harry. 2015. “Gender and hardiness as predictors of career adaptability: An exploratory study among black call centre agents.” South African Journal of Psychology 45(1): 81–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246314546346.

Coetzee, M., N. Ferreira, and C. Shunmugum. 2017. “Psychological career resources, career adaptability and work engagement of generational cohorts in the media industry.” SA Journal of Human Resource Management 15(0): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v15i0.868.

Coetzee, M., N. Ferreira, and I. L. Potgieter. 2015. “Assessing employability capacities and career adaptability in a sample of human resource professionals.” SA Journal of Human Resource Management 13(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v13i1.682.

Cohen, J. 1992. “A power primer.” Psychological Bulletin 112(1): 155‒159.

Cox, S. and D. King. 2006. “Skill sets: An approach to embed employability in course design.” Education + Training 48(4): 262–274. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910610671933.

Daswati, D., H. Wiraman, S. Hattab, R. Salam, and A. S. Iskandar. 2022. “The effect of psychological capital on performance through the role of career engagement: Evidence from Indonesian public organisations.” Cogent Social Sciences 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2021.2012971.

Deci, E. L. and R. M. Ryan. 2000. “The ‘What’ and ‘Why’ of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behaviour.” Psychological Inquiry 11(4): 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01.

Görgens-Ekermans, G. and M. Herbert. 2013. “Psychological capital: Internal and external validity of the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-24) on a South African sample.” SA Journal of Industrial Psychology / SA Tydskrif vir Bedryfsielkunde 39(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v39i21131.

Hair, J. F., W. C. Black, B. J. Babin and R. E. Anderson. 2019. Multivariate data analysis. 8th Edition. Cengage.

Hartung, P. J. and M. Cadaret. 2017. “Career Adaptability: Changing Self and Situation for Satisfaction and Success.” In Psychology of Career Adaptability, Employability and Resilience, edited by K. Maree, 15–28. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66954-0_1.

Lin, Z. and Y. Jiang. 2023. “Character strengths, meaning in life, personal goal, and career adaptability among impoverished college students: A chain-mediating model.” Heliyon 9(2): e13232.

Luthans, F. 2011. Organisational behaviour. An evidence-based approach. 12th Edition. McGraw-Hill.

Luthans, F. and C. M. Youssef. 2007. “Emerging Positive Organisational Behavior.” Journal of Management 33(3): 321–349. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206307300814.

Luthans, F. and C. M. Youssef-Morgan. 2017. “Psychological capital: An evidence-based positive approach.” Annual review of organisational psychology and organisational behavior 4(1): 339–366. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032516-113324.

Maree, K. 2017a. “The Psychology of Career Adaptability, Career Resilience, and Employability: A Broad Overview.” In Psychology of Career Adaptability, Employability and Resilience, edited by K. Maree, 3–11. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66954-0_21.

Maree, K. 2017b. “Utilising Career Adaptability and Career Resilience to Promote Employability and Decent Work and Alleviate Poverty.” In Psychology of Career Adaptability, Employability and Resilience, edited by K. Maree, 349–373. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66954-0_21.

Mohammed, M. M., M. Nazri, and S. Omar. 2019. “The Mediating Role of Career Adaptability on the Relationship Between Psychological Capital and Academics’ Career Success.” Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review (Oman Chapter) 8(4): 8–21.

Ngoma, M. and P. D. Ntale. 2016. “Psychological capital, career identity and graduate employability in Uganda: the mediating role of social capital.” International Journal of Training and Development 20(2): 124–139. https://doi.org/ 10.1111/ijtd.12073.

Nimmi, P. M. and W. E. Donald. 2023. “Modelling the interaction between serious leisure, self-perceived employability, stress, and workplace well-being: empirical insights from graduates in India.” Personnel Review 52(1): 272–287. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2021-0305.

Oosthuizen, R. M. 2022. “The Fourth Industrial Revolution – Smart Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Algorithms: Industrial Psychologists in Future Workplaces.” Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence 5: 913168. https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2022.913168.

Oosthuizen, R. M., C. Mayer, and N. J. Zwane. 2021. “Burnout, employee engagement and self-perceived employability in the South African public sector.” SA Journal of Human Resource Management / SA Tydskrif vir Menslikehulpbronbestuur 19(0): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v19i0.1340.

Potgieter, I. and M. Coetzee. 2013. “Employability attributes and personality preferences of postgraduate business management students.” SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 39(1): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v39i1.1064.

Qenani, E., N. MacDougall, and C. Sexton. 2014. “An empirical study of self-perceived employability: Improving the prospects for student employment success in an uncertain environment.” Active Learning in Higher Education 15(3): 199–213. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787414544875.

Rawat, R. and R. Sharma. 2018. “Is psychological capital related to employability skills of graduate students?” Journal of General Management Research 5(2): 39–54. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a6bb/72fa204f58050942f7b83b818e5655db3173.pdf.

Rothwell, A. and J. Arnold. 2005. “Self-perceived employability: Development and validation of a scale.” Personnel Review 36(1): 23–41. https://doi.org/10.1108/00483480710716704.

Rothwell, A., S. Jewel, and M. Hardie. 2009. “Self-perceived employability: Investigating the responses of postgraduate students.” Journal of Vocational Behaviour 75: 152–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2009.05.002.

Rottinghaus, P. J., N. A. Falk, and A. Eshelman. 2017. “Assessing Career Adaptability.” In Psychology of Career Adaptability, Employability and Resilience, edited by K. Maree, 83–105. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66954-0_6.

Safavi, H. P. and M. Bouzari. 2019. “The association of psychological capital, career adaptability and career competency among hotel frontline employees.” Tourism Management Perspectives 30: 65–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2019.02.001.

Salkind, N. J. 2012. Exploring research. 8th Edition. Pearson Education International.

Santilli, S., J. Marcionetti, S. Rochat, J. Rossier, and L. Nota. 2017. “Career adaptability, hope, optimism, and life satisfaction in Italian and Swiss adolescents.” Journal of Career Development 44(1): 62–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845316633793.

Savickas, M. L. 2013. “The 2012 Leona Tyler Award Address.” The Counseling Psychologist 41(4): 648–662. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000012468339.

Savickas, M. L. and E. J. Porfeli. 2012. “Career adapt-abilities scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries.” Journal of Vocational Behavior 80(3): 661–673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2012.01.011.

Schreuder, A. M. G. and M. Coetzee. 2016. Careers: An organisational perspective. 5th Edition. Juta.

Sou, E. K., M. Yuen, and G. Chen. 2022. “Career adaptability as a mediator between social capital and career engagement.” The Career Development Quarterly 70(1): 2–15.

Stindt, C. 2022. Analysis Interpretation Document. Guide document for statistic interpretations. Eversci.

Suhr, D. 2006. Exploratory or Confirmatory Factor Analysis? SAS Users Group International Conference. SAS Institute, Inc.

Tien, H. S. and Y. Wang. 2017. “Career Adaptability, Employability, and Career Resilience of Asian People.” In Psychology of Career Adaptability, Employability and Resilience, edited K. Maree, 299–314. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66954-0_18.

Tredoux, C. and K. Durheim. 2008. Numbers, hypotheses & conclusions: A programme in statistics for the social sciences. University of Cape Town Press.

Xia, T., H. Gu, Y. Huang, Q. Zhu, and Y. Cheng. 2020. “The relationship between career social support and employability of college students: A moderated mediation model.” Frontiers in Psychology 11(28): 1–7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00028.

Zyberaj, J., S. Seibel, A. F. Schowalter, L. Pötz, S. Richter-Killenberg, and J. Volmer. 2022. “Developing Sustainable Careers during a Pandemic: The Role of Psychological Capital and Career Adaptability.” Sustainability, 14: 3105. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14053105.

Published
2024-11-30
How to Cite
Van Vuuren, J., R. M. Oosthuizen, and L. Steyn. 2024. “Non-Degreed youth’s Employability, Career Adaptability, and Psychological Capital at an Educational Institution”. South African Journal of Higher Education 38 (6), 246-66. https://doi.org/10.20853/38-6-5984.
Section
General Articles