Employability - Employability: Towards A Definition

Employability: Towards A Definition

While there is no singular definition of employability, a review of the literature suggests that employability is about work and the ability to be employed, such as:

• the ability to gain initial employment; hence the interest in ensuring that ‘key skills’, careers advice and an understanding about the world of work are embedded in the education system
• the ability to maintain employment and make ‘transitions’ between jobs and roles within the same organization to meet new job requirements, and
• the ability to obtain new employment if required, i.e. to be independent in the labour market by being willing and able to manage their own employment transitions between and within organisations.

It is also, ideally, about:

• the quality of such work or employment. People may be able to obtain work but it may be below their level of skill, or in low paid, undesirable or unsustainable jobs, and so forth.
• The capacity and capability of gaining and maintaining productive work over the period of one's working life. (Muhammad Nawaz Qaisar, MS HRD, NUML, Islamabad, Pakistan)