Evans (2001) suggested a division of
employability into supply-side and demand-side elements (described as
‘employability components’ and ‘external factors’). Employability
components are identified as follows:
(a) the extent of the individual’s transferable skills,
(b) the level of personal motivation to seek work,
(c) the extent of the individual’s ‘mobility’ in seeking work,
(d) access to information and support networks,
(e) and the extent and nature of other personal barriers to work.
External factors include:
(a) the attitudes of employers towards the unemployed,
(b) the supply and quality of training and education,
(c) the availability of other assistance for disadvantaged job seekers,
(d) the extent to which the tax-benefits system successfully eliminates benefit trap and
(e) (Most importantly) the supply of appropriate jobs in the local economy (p. 207).
In an attempt to arrive at a definition of employability that would
provide a ‘framework for policy analysis’ and a means of understanding
the complexities of the barriers to work faced by individuals, Hillage
and Pollard (1998) have drawn upon many themes from the existing
literature. Their framework for employability seeks to highlight a
complex interaction of different components, namely;
(a)
employability assets: include baseline assets, such as basic skills and
essential personal attributes (reliability and honesty); intermediate
assets, such as job-specific, generic and ‘key’ skills (communication
and problem solving); and high-level assets, such as those skills that
contribute to organizational performance (team work and commercial
awareness).
(b) presentation: this defined as the ability to
secure an appointment to an appropriate position through the
demonstration of employability assets (through the competent completion
of a curriculum vitae or application form, or participation in an
interview).
(c) deployment: this refers to a range of abilities
including career management skills (for example, awareness of one’s own
abilities and limitations, awareness of opportunities in the labour
market, and decision-making and transitional skills) and job-search
skills.
(d) context factors or the interaction of personal
circumstances and the labour market: Hillage and Pollard (1998) accepted
that the individual’s ability to realize the assets and skills
discussed will to some extent depend upon external socioeconomic
factors, personal circumstances and the relationship between the two.
External conditions such as local labour market demand and employer
attitudes will impact upon the availability of suitable opportunities,
while personal circumstances will affect the ability of individuals to
seek and benefit from opportunities (p. 208).
Employability is
not an assurance of actual employment but it may increase the chances of
becoming employed. Employability is commonly considered to incorporate
factors related to an individual’s preparation for work, the ability to
get a job with security and the ability to successfully manage and keep
the job. Factors related to career advancement, such as the individual’s
capability to move from unemployment to a job or from one job to
another, are also incorporated into employability (Hillage, Pollard,
1998, Knight & Yorke, 2004). Employability is not only related to
individual ability or the formalized competence and credentials gained
through educational institutions and other organized educational
activities (Nilsson, 2010, McQuaid & Lindsay, 2005). It is a
multidimensional and complex concept that can be related to, general
transferable competence, continuous learning and competence development
(Harvey, 2001). In a broader definition, the concept also includes
dimensions such as personal characteristics and talents, informal
contacts, personal social networks, age, gender, health, work ability,
and other factors that are not easily gained through formal education.
However, in this study, employability will be used more conservatively.
Work ability, health, educational level, age, and gender will be treated
as separate variables that are not included in the employability
concept. This will enable a more specific and in-depth analysis of the
relationship between the most central variables relevant to the return
to the labour market after long-term absence (Ahlgren, Bergroth, Ekholm
& Schüldt 2003; Labriola, 2008; Labriola, Lund, Christensen,
Albertsen, Bültmann, Jensen & Villandsen, 2007, Marnetoft, Selander,
Bergrot & Ekholm, 2001).
In Nigeria, academic excellence,
qualifications and high performance attainment have been regarded very
seriously as the parameters for recruitment, placement and advancement
in both public and private sector organizations. Qualification can be
seen in a particular context as necessary but seldom as sufficient for
finding employment and no much studies have been identified with the use
of this as a sole measure of employability. Clarke (2007) cited two
studies providing evidence of employers ranking qualification (in term
of importance) and other qualities such as honesty, punctuality,
experience, conscientiousness, adaptability, drive, values fit,
communication skills and job knowledge. Nonetheless, at least, at the
professional level, employers extract information about participants
from their educational experience including technical expertise,
capacity, personality and motivation (Dafou, 2009). As indicated by
Wittekind, Raeder and Grote (2010), human capital theory accepted that
qualification can be used as proxy for an individual’s human capital and
are expected to have a positive association with increased earning and
productivity. The authors further added that this measure of human
capital is insufficient and proposed a more complex measure that
includes competence development. Thus, on its own, level of
qualification is a limited measurement of employability but it can be
used to complement other measures.
Employability Skills
The
skills have become increasingly important in the globalised world.
According to International Labour Organization (ILO) (2008),
employability skills are the skills, knowledge and competencies that
enhance a worker’s ability to secure and retain a job, progress at work
and cope with change, secure another job if he or she so wishes or has
been laid off and enter more easily into the labour market at different
periods of the life cycle. Individuals are most employable when they
have broad-based education and training, basic and portable high-level
skills, including teamwork, problem solving, information and
communications technology (ICT) and communication and language skills.
This combination of skills enables them to adapt to changes in the world
of work. Employability results from several factors such as foundation
of core skills, access to education, availability of training
opportunities, motivation, ability and support to take advantage of
opportunities for continuous learning, and recognition of acquired
skills. This critical for enabling workers to attain decent work and
manage change and for enabling enterprises to adopt new technologies and
enter new markets (ILO, 2008). Robinson (2000) described employability
skill as the basic skills needed for one to get a job and enable him or
her to carryout duties well. Kazilan, Hamzah and Bakar (2009) described
employability skill as a group of important skills instilled in each
individual in order to produce productive workforce. This is parallel
with individuals who have strong characteristics such as a high sense of
self, innovativeness, productiveness, skillful, and competitiveness, a
strong sense of determination and creativity in facing the challenges of
the nation as well as globalization in the 21st century.
Employability skills are significant subset of a broader set of generic
skills. Rychen and Salganik (2001) identified four major conceptual
elements in generic competencies. These are:
(i)
multi-functional: they meet a range of different and important demands
of daily life. They are needed to achieve different goals and to solve
multiple problems in different contexts;
(ii) relevant across many
fields: they are relevant for participation in school, the labour
market, political processes, social networks and interpersonal
relationships, including family life and for developing a sense of
social wellbeing;
(iii) a high order of mental complexity: they
assume a mental autonomy which involves an active and reflective
approach to life and
(iv) multi-dimensional: they are composed of know-how, analytical, cultural, communication skills and common sense (p. 54).
Employability skills are those skills necessary for getting, keeping
and being successful in a job. These are the skills and attitudes that
enable employees to get along with their colleagues, to make critical
decisions, solve problems, develop respect and ultimately become strong
ambassadors for the organization (Sodipo, 2014). These skills (soft) are
usually lacking in graduates that are just out of school and even those
already in employment. Organizations spend a lot of time and money
training staff, not only in job - specific areas but also in general and
basic skills. In time of high unemployment as in the nation presently,
employers have more choice of applicants and will often favour those
with well–rounded employability skills. Such skills according to Skills
You Need (2013) include:
(i) interpersonal skills: these are used
to interact with people, participate effectively as members of a team,
negotiate, satisfy customers, make decisions, manage time and work
effectively with colleagues;
(ii) communication skills: these
consist ability to write clearly and succinctly, to demonstrate good
vocabulary and listen actively.
(iii) critical thinking skills:
these refer to ability to solve problems and make decisions. They also a
huge asset to employers. They include ability to effectively plan and
organize creative thinking are innovative and inventive ways of doing
things that add value to the work environment.
(iv) personal
development: this is having the right attitude towards work and the
organization you work. Employers look for people who are open to
learning and embrace change. Such a person will be more successful than
the person who is afraid of learning and resistant to changes in the
organization.
(v) self-management skills refers to
self-motivation, self-confidence, self-control-skills that are used to
manage personal feelings and how people react to challenges and problems
both at work and in their private lives.
(vi) presentation
skill: these are skills needed for presenting information clearly and
effectively in the work place. This includes business plans, reports,
and minutes.
(vii) leadership skill: this is the ability to influence others towards the achievement of a goal.
(viii)
Numeracy: involves understanding of numerical data, statistics and
graphs. It is also a part of making decisions and reasoning.
(ix)
IT skills: - Acquiring basic IT skills and being familiar with the
computer open a wide range of employment opportunities and increase
marketability in work places (skills you need, p. 33).
