The influence of psychological capital on graduates’ perception of employability: the mediating role of employability skills

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the influence of psychological capital on the acquisition of employability skills among final-year university students. The study also looked into whether employability skills played a mediating role in the relationship between psychological capital and employability as perceived by undergraduates. With a time-lagged design and a sample of 326 students in their last year in a Business Administration and Management undergraduate program, the results showed that the increase in students’ psychological capital had a positive and direct effect on the increase in the level of competence shown in employability skills. On the other hand, the results revealed that entrepreneurial initiative was the only employability skill that plays a mediating role in the relationship between psychological capital and the employability perceived by students. Therefore, interventions designed to increase the perceived employability of undergraduate students should include components that focus on developing their psychological capital and entrepreneurial initiative.

KEYWORDS:

• Employability skills
• perceived employability
• psychological capital
• university students

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).