Employers expect young graduates to have a well-rounded sense of self, to display a range of graduate employability capacities and to adapt to constant changes they are faced with in order to obtain and maintain employment.
The goals of this study are (1) to investigate whether a significant relationship exists between graduate employability capacities, self-esteem and career adaptability, (2) to ascertain if a set of graduate employability capacities, when combined with self-esteem, has a significant relationship with a set of career adaptability capacities and (3) to identify the major variables that contribute to this relationship.
The potential for career adaptability, graduate employability capacities and self-esteem of young adults promotes employability among graduates, thereby addressing and possibly reducing youth unemployment in South Africa.
A quantitative, cross-sectional research design approach was utilised in which descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlations and canonical correlation analysis were employed to accomplish the objectives of this study. Respondents (N = 332) were enrolled at further education and training (FET) colleges and were predominantly black (98.5%) and female (62%) students between the ages of 18 and 29.
The results displayed positive multivariate relationships between the variables and furthermore showed that graduate employability capacities contributed the most in terms of clarifying the respondents’ career adaptability as compared to their self-esteem.
This study proposes that young adults’ career adaptability can be enhanced through the development of their self-esteem and particularly their graduate employability capacities, thus making them more employable.
Theoretically, this study proves useful because of the significant interactions found between graduate employability capacities, self-esteem and career adaptability. Empirical evidence is provided that confirms the need to enhance graduate employability and self-esteem capacities in order to improve the career adaptability of young adults. This will then assist them in dealing with the instability of the 21st-century world of work. Practically, the findings imply that young adults differ with regard to their career adaptability and that graduate employability capacities and self-esteem influence their career adaptability. Therefore, in focusing on the enhancement of young adults’ graduate employability capacities and self-esteem, an industrial psychologist and career counsellor can enhance young adults’ career adaptability, thus making them employable and adaptable to the changes in the 21st-century world of work.
Youth or graduate unemployment is a major issue in South Africa, particularly for black youths who face unfavourable living and social conditions (Mmesi,
South African young adults in search of employment face challenges such as an economic downturn, poverty, a lack of experience and a skills profile that tends to be widely divergent from what is required by employers (Ismail,
Graduate employability capacities, healthy self-esteem levels and the competence to adapt to new challenges in the working environment (career adaptability) have been recognised as vital capacities in creating proactive, competent, employable young adults and sustaining a competitive business advantage (Chetty,
Career adaptability has become essential for individuals who need to navigate constant change (Maree,
Although research focuses on the need for all employees to acquire and maintain certain key competencies, the researcher has grouped the competencies as follows for purposes of this study: (1)
This article is structured as follows: The purpose of the research is first identified. This is followed by a literature review, which includes a discussion of the three variables of interest and is concluded with a theoretical integration. Thereafter, the research design is discussed by explaining the approach that was followed to collect the data, the methodology utilised, the ethical considerations that were followed and the statistical analysis that made the study possible. The results of the empirical study are then reported and both the descriptive and canonical correlations are explained. The results are subsequently discussed and the limitations and future research directions are outlined. The article concludes with a discussion of the practical implications.
This study investigates the relationship between young adults’ graduate employability capacities (Coetzee,
This study extends the work of De Guzman and Choi (
Graduate employability capacities, self-esteem and career adaptability are discussed in this section. The discussion of these three variables is followed by a section on theoretical integration.
In the literature, there is no full consensus as to what constitutes graduate employability capacities. Furthermore, the term ‘graduate employability capacities’ is used interchangeably with ‘graduateness skills and attributes’, ‘graduate attributes’, ‘employability attributes’, ‘employability capacities’ and ‘employability skills’. The term ‘graduate employability capacities’ is used for the purposes of this study.
Graduate employability capacities refer to those skills and attributes that are produced by an institution of higher education, which reflect the quality of personal growth and intellectual development of graduates and the relevance they bring to the workplace (Coetzee,
Coetzee’s (
The 21st-century economy is progressing at an exponential rate, which emphasises the increasing requirement for employees to be highly qualified and highly skilled (Goodman & Tredway,
Self-esteem is defined as a socially constructed emotion that reveals insights of a person’s various self-concepts and self-images, which are grounded on the psychological requirement for being accepted and affiliated with a social unit (Battle,
Positive self-esteem indicates that a person fits in well with the social world, is competent and able to meet the challenges of the world, is ready to participate in life within this social context and is able to balance social demands and personal desires (Hewitt,
It is believed that individuals with low levels of self-esteem are more likely to display poor psychological adjustment when faced with stressful situations (Heimpel, Wood, Marshall & Brown,
One of the key components of career construction theory, namely, career adaptability, refers to a set of psychosocial resources. These resources assist in job search prospects and the formation of other career improvement opportunities, allowing a person to fit into the favoured work contexts by participating confidently in the work role (Ambiel, Carvalho, Martins & Tofoli,
Career adaptability has been described with reference to four different dimensions that represent the coping mechanisms people employ to incorporate their self-concept into their vocational role and environment (Nota, Ginevra, Santilli & Soresi,
Career concern describes the degree to which employees are future oriented and proactive in their preparation for impending career tasks and challenges (Savickas & Porfeli,
Career curiosity involves individuals exploring possible future selves and opportunities and thinking about how they may influence various work roles and environments (Savickas & Porfeli,
When faced with the turbulent working world of the 21st century, young adults who possess career adaptability resources are more likely to flourish (Maree,
Graduate employability capacities, self-esteem and career adaptability are important self-supervised psychosocial resources for individuals’ continuous learning and employability (Bezuidenhout,
As separate parts, graduate employability capacities, self-esteem and career adaptability are crucial to enhancing young adults’ employability. The purpose of this research is to investigate whether graduate employability capacities and self-esteem, when combined, will influence young adults’ career adaptability and ultimately affect their employability. More specifically, the research question posed in this study is: Do graduate employability capacities and self-esteem predict and explain young adults’ career adaptability?
It is believed that through the exploration of this research question, career counsellors can focus on these capacities in enhancing young adults’ career adaptability, thereby helping them to be more adaptable to the turbulent world of work and, therefore, more employable.
A cross-sectional, quantitative research approach was followed to collect primary data. This took the form of a paper-based, self-report questionnaire to allow for a statistical analysis of the data and for associations to be made between the variables.
A non-probability convenience sample (
Graduate employability capacities were measured using the graduateness skills and attributes scale (GSAS) (Coetzee,
Self-esteem was measured using the Culture-Free Self-esteem Inventory for Adults (CFSEI 2-AD) (Battle,
Career adaptability capacities were measured using the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) (Savickas & Porfeli,
Paper-based questionnaires were distributed to participants at the beginning of one of their classes and were collected at the end of the class. Respondents were given approximately 20–25 min to complete the questionnaires. A total of 355 students completed the questionnaires, after which 332 questionnaires were identified as usable for the purpose of the study (
Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients), Pearson product-moment correlations and canonical correlation analysis were employed in the study using JMP software (from SAS). In interpreting Pearson’s correlations (
The following function was computed: graduate employability capacities and self-esteem (independent variable) and career adaptability (dependent variable). Wilks’s lambda chi-square test was performed to test for the significance,
Ethical clearance and permission was obtained from the University of South Africa, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and the two facilitating FET colleges. Participants were invited to participate voluntarily and were required to sign an informed consent form that was attached to the front of each questionnaire. A biographical questionnaire, the CFSEI 2-AD, the GSAS and the CAAS were distributed.
Descriptive statistics, correlations and internal consistency reliability (
Variable | M | SD | α | Gender | Career concern | Career control | Career curiosity | Career confidence | Career adaptability total | Problem-solving skills | Analytical thinking | Enterprising | Interactive skills | Presenting and apply | Ethical and responsible behaviour | Continuous learning | Goal-directed behaviour | Graduateness total | General self-esteem | Personal self-esteem | Social self-esteem | Self-esteem total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Career concern | 4.38 | 0.52 | 0.68 | −0.05 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career control | 4.17 | 0.62 | 0.74 | −0.02 | 0.61 |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career curiosity | 4.01 | 0.66 | 0.78 | 0.00 | 0.59 |
0.66 |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career confidence | 4.10 | 0.62 | 0.77 | 0.01 | 0.58 |
0.64 |
0.73 |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career adaptability: Total | 4.16 | 0.52 | 0.91 | −0.02 | 0.80 |
0.86 |
0.88 |
0.87 |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Problem-solving skills | 4.30 | 0.84 | 0.77 | 0.00 | 0.39 |
0.42 |
0.48 |
0.55 |
0.54 |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Analytical thinking skills | 3.99 | 0.97 | 0.72 | −0.00 | 0.30 |
0.34 |
0.37 |
0.39 |
0.41 |
0.60 |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Enterprising skills | 4.18 | 0.78 | 0.65 | 0.04 | 0.39 |
0.43 |
0.52 |
0.52 |
0.55 |
0.66 |
0.55 |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Interactive skills | 4.62 | 0.69 | 0.85 | −0.04 | 0.45 |
0.49 |
0.51 |
0.56 |
0.59 |
0.71 |
0.53 |
0.64 |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Presenting and applying information skills | 4.43 | 0.85 | 0.61 | −0.05 | 0.35 |
0.41 |
0.42 |
0.45 |
0.48 |
0.69 |
0.57 |
0.59 |
0.71 |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Ethical and responsible behaviour | 4.64 | 0.86 | 0.58 | 0.01 | 0.31 |
0.30 |
0.35 |
0.36 |
0.39 |
0.54 |
0.44 |
0.42 |
0.50 |
0.51 |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Continuous learning orientation | 4.64 | 0.80 | 0.79 | −0.02 | 0.39 |
0.43 |
0.49 |
0.59 |
0.56 |
0.70 |
0.57 |
0.62 |
0.75 |
0.64 |
0.41 |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Graduateness: Total | 4.43 | 0.65 | 0.95 | −0.01 | 0.46 |
0.49 |
0.55 |
0.61 |
0.62 |
0.87 |
0.76 |
0.79 |
0.85 |
0.84 |
0.67 |
0.84 |
0.82 |
- | - | - | - | - |
General self-esteem | 4.28 | 0.66 | 0.74 | 0.04 | 0.17 |
0.16 |
0.12 |
0.17 |
0.18 |
0.29 |
0.28 |
0.23 |
0.32 |
0.32 |
0.25 |
0.22 |
0.29 |
0.35 |
- | - | - | - |
Personal self-esteem | 3.40 | 1.04 | 0.74 | 0.14 |
0.06 | 0.08 | 0.07 | 0.11 |
0.09 | 0.14 |
0.17 |
0.08 | 0.11 |
0.20 |
0.07 | 0.12 |
0.18 |
0.17 |
0.62 |
- | - | - |
Social self-esteem | 4.86 | 0.75 | 0.31 | −0.02 | 0.18 |
0.17 |
0.16 |
0.25 |
0.22 |
0.37 |
0.34 |
0.35 |
0.41 |
0.39 |
0.38 |
0.35 |
0.36 |
0.46 |
0.31 |
0.10 | - | - |
Self-esteem: Total | 4.18 | 0.61 | 0.82 | 0.09 | 0.16 |
0.17 |
0.15 |
0.23 |
0.21 |
0.34 |
0.34 |
0.27 |
0.34 |
0.39 |
0.29 |
0.29 |
0.35 |
0.40 |
0.83 |
0.83 |
0.58 |
- |
M, mean; SD, standard deviation; α, Cronbach’s alpha.
,
,
,
Also displayed in
The significant intercorrelations between the GSAS, the CFSEI 2-AD and the CAAS variables were moderate to large in effect size (
Canonical correlation analysis was used to study the multivariate relationships between the eight GSAS scores (problem-solving and decision-making skills, enterprising skills, analytical thinking skills, interactive skills, presenting and applying information skills, ethical and responsible behaviour, goal-directed behaviour and continuous learning orientation), the three CFSEI 2-AD scores (general self-esteem, personal self-esteem and social self-esteem) and the four CAAS scores (career concern, career control, career curiosity and career confidence). The GSAS scores and the CFSEI 2-AD scores were treated as independent variables and were combined to form the skills set variable, and the CAAS scores were treated as dependent variables.
Results of the standardised canonical correlation analysis for the first canonical function with the detailed graduateness skills and attributes scale variables.
Variate | Variables | Canonical coefficients | Structure coefficients ( |
Canonical cross-loadings ( |
Squared canonical loadings ( |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Skills canonical variate variables | General self-esteem | −0.09 | 0.26 | 0.18 | 0.03 |
Personal self-esteem | 0.09 | 0.15 | 0.10 | 0.01 | |
Social self-esteem | −0.08 | 0.36 | 0.24 | 0.06 | |
Problem-solving | 0.19 | 0.85 | 0.57 | 0.32 | |
Analytical thinking | −0.01 | 0.62 | 0.42 | 0.18 | |
Enterprising skills | 0.31 | 0.83 | 0.56 | 0.31 | |
Interactive skills | 0.34 | 0.88 | 0.59 | 0.35 | |
Presenting and applying information skills | −0.10 | 0.72 | 0.48 | 0.23 | |
Ethical and responsible behaviour | 0.11 | 0.57 | 0.39 | 0.15 | |
Goal-directed behaviour | 0.09 | 0.78 | 0.53 | 0.28 | |
Continuous learning orientation | 0.30 | 0.88 | 0.59 | 0.35 | |
Career adaptability canonical variate variables | Career concern | 0.11 | 0.70 | 0.47 | 0.22 |
Career control | 0.10 | 0.76 | 0.51 | 0.26 | |
Career curiosity | 0.28 | 0.87 | 0.58 | 0.34 | |
Career confidence | 0.63 | 0.96 | 0.64 | 0.42 |
Note: Overall model fit measures (function 1): Overall
Social self-esteem (
The aim of this study was to establish (1) whether a significant relationship exists between graduate employability capacities, self-esteem and career adaptability capacities, (2) if a set of graduate employability capacities, when combined with self-esteem, has a significant relationship with a set of career adaptability capacities and (3) the variables that have the greatest influence on this relationship.
The results of this study revealed significant associations between graduate employability capacities, self-esteem and career adaptability capacities. This is confirmed by the following research findings: Individuals with high self-esteem are able to demonstrate graduate employability capacities better than those with low self-esteem (Potgieter,
The results of this study further revealed that when graduate employability capacities are combined with self-esteem capacities, these capacities have a significant relationship with career adaptability capacities. The study also showed that the variables that have the greatest influence on this relationship are all the graduate employability capacities (continuous learning orientation, interactive skills, problem-solving skills, enterprising skills, goal-directed behaviour, presenting and applying information, analytical thinking and ethical and responsible behaviour).
These findings are confirmed by the study of De Guzman and Choi (
The results of this study are further confirmed by the notion that career adaptability and graduate employability capacities are likely to have an impact on each other (De Guzman & Choi,
Being career adaptable means accepting personal responsibility related to one’s self- and career development, taking the initiative to explore possible future work roles, influencing one’s work environment and being proactive in preparing for career-related tasks and challenges (Savickas & Porfeli,
Young adults recognise the need to accept responsibility for their own employability and career development and have focused on acquiring graduate employability capacities and the ability to adapt to contemporary work demands with the aim of strengthening their odds to gain and to maintain suitable and sustainable employment (Bezuidenhout,
This research highlights the significance of career adaptability in enabling young adults to cope with the constant changes and demands that they encounter in the 21st-century world of work. Cultivating career adaptability and graduate employability capacities prepares and equips young graduates to deal with uncertainties in the working world and simultaneously enhances their employability, which will combat youth unemployment in South Africa. It is important that career counsellors focus on helping young persons to improve their decision-making skills (graduate employability capacities), self-knowledge (and thus self-esteem) and occupational exploration or career planning skills (career adaptability), thereby assisting them in establishing successful careers (Zunker,
Certain limitations associated with the current study must be noted. Owing to the small sample size and the sampling strategy utilised, the findings cannot be generalised to the South African young adult population. The interpretations of the findings of this study are limited by the correlational design and by the cross-sectional nature of the data, implying that no interpretations can be made relating to the causality of the associations of the variables. The study is also limited to a particular moment in time. According to Hair et al. (
Future research could reproduce this study, using a more representative sample, especially in terms of age, race and gender. Future longitudinal studies could also clarify the relationships between graduate employability capacities, self-esteem and career adaptability as reported in this study and may also supply evidence of the way in which these variables evolve over time as individuals progress from one transition to the next.
This study proposes that young adults’ career adaptability may be improved through the development of their graduate employability capacities. Industrial psychologists and career counsellors should engage in interventions to assist young adults in enhancing their graduate employability capacities in order to enhance their career adaptability and, consequently, their employability.
Individuals who measure high on career adaptability are sought after by employers because they respond to transitions better than those who measure low on career adaptability. Career development interventions should concentrate on supporting young adults in formulating their employability capacities in order to increase their confidence and self-efficacy in demonstrating their ability to manage their careers and employability (Del Corso,
Young South African adults have to develop graduate employability capacities and have to be self-aware and self-confident in their abilities to become and to remain employed. In addition, they have to be more adaptable to any changes in the working world. Graduate employability capacities predict a large variance in young adults’ career adaptability, indicating that industrial psychologists and career counsellors should strive to enhance the graduate employability capacities of young South African adults to ensure that they are more career adaptable and therefore more employable.
The author is grateful to Dr Anita de Bruyn and Prof. Melinde Coetzee for the guidance and advice they provided in respect of this article.
The author declares that she has no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced her in writing this article.