Employability has always been a pressing subject socio-politically, and it is more relevant than ever before now – because of the increasing talk around automation’s potential impact on jobs, and the grim employment outlook because of an absence of jobs in the market, and a lack of formal skills in people in India.
The factors of unemployment can be categorised into two broad categories – cyclical factors and structural factors.
And the unemployed are only going to increase – according to ILO.
The developing discourse on unemployment makes the discussion on employability equally important.
In this article, we discuss the concept of employability, sourcing it from academic research.
We look at the three determinants of employability and the integrative model of employability as discussed in the research on employability and career success by Hogan, Chamorro-Premuzic and Kaiser.
* The three determinants of employability
Numerous researches on employability conclude with a long list of attributes as pre-requisites in individuals to either gain employment or maintain employment.
According to the researchers, 'both career success and employability depend on behaving in socially desirable ways, especially when interacting with recruiters, employers, and managers.' And 'the ability to do this depends on a surprisingly small set of competencies'. The research identifies three competencies - interpersonally skilled, smart or able, and compliant.
A combination of individual’s competencies and the employer’s perception determines the employability of that individual.
It is the employer who determines whether an individual is employable or not. If the employer perceives the individual to be employable, then the individual gains employment or climbs the career ladder.
Employers assess whether a prospective candidate will make a positive contribution to the organisation. It is that assessment that determines their employability.
The researchers underscore three determinants of the employer’s perception and thus eventually of employability –
* Is the candidate rewarding to deal with
* Is the candidate able to do the job
* Is the candidate willing to work hard
* Ability
It isn’t always essential that the candidate has to be 100 per cent skilled for that role – because some skills can be taught and sharpened on the go.
The basic premise of selecting a candidate is assessing is s/he has the prerequisite skills for that role and checking whether s/he would be able to do that job if s/he comes onboard or is elevated.
The minimum pre-requisite ability is a must though.
* Social Skills
Employees are expected to collaborate for projects across teams and work with different stakeholders. They need to possess social skills that enable them to be agile enough to work in different teams and with different people all the time.
These social skills are what makes an employee a cultural fit in an organisation and it is essential if s/he is to become a part of the company or progress in the firm.
The candidate will be employable if s/he has the ability to, first manage himself, and then manage co-workers.
* Willingness
The last determinant of employability is willingness or drive – the motivation to finish a task till it is complete. It is the attitude of getting the job done. As the researchers put it, 'Ability and social skill may be considered talent; but potential is talent multiplied by drive as this will determine how much ability and social skills get put to use.'
All the three determinants of employability can be measured both via observation (interviews), and scientific methods (skill assessment tests and psychometric tests).
One maybe considerably strong in one aspect, and average in another; but it is important to have all the traits to be employable, especially in such a competitive, scarce, and volatile job market.
Courtesy: www.peoplematters.in