Navigating employability from the bottom up

ABSTRACT

Research focusing on young people’s career trajectories has emphasised ‘graduate employability’ with much less attention being afforded to the employability strategies used by disadvantaged youth, including the social, political and labour market contexts in which these emerge. This study explores how young people enrolled in entry-level, vocational training courses in Australia attempt to enhance their employability. Interviews explored perceptions of individual employability, the strategies utilised to improve employability, and the economic, personal and employment consequences of these strategies. Three main employability strategies were identified: gaining qualifications to meet employment expectations; securing work experience in a competitive labour market; and addressing economic and social challenges to secure and sustain employment. The study reveals how the dominant narratives of employability in education and employment policy are misaligned with the economic, social and labour market challenges faced by disadvantaged job-seekers with respect to notions of career and ‘fit’ between the individual and the labour market. Policy responses need to take account of the diverse ‘bottom up’ experiences and circumstances of different cohorts of young people.

KEYWORDS:

• Employability
• youth
• employment
• training
• VET
• work experience

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Paula McDonald http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3549-4691

Katherine Moore http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4176-9927

Notes

1 The term ‘employability’ was not used directly in the interviews. Rather, questions were framed using language such as ‘getting a job’ or ‘securing employment’.

2 Across many countries, the concept of mutual obligation underpins the eligibility criteria of unemployed individuals to receive social security payments whilst looking for work. In Australia, job seekers who receive welfare payments must engage with a government funded intermediary employment service provider to demonstrate their commitment to finding work. Amongst other requirements, job seekers are required to undertake job search and vocational training activities to maintain welfare payments. Breaches of obligations prescribed by these services can result in the suspension of welfare payments.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Australian Research Council [grant number FT120100635].