Second order
Employability
Skills
Jeff Landine, University of New Brunswick (jlandine@unb.ca)
John Stewart, University of New Brunswick (jstewart@unb.ca)
Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Annual Conference
Victoria, B.C., May 8, 2014
• Comment on the deficiencies of only considering
employability skills such as those suggested by the
Conference Board of Canada.
• Analyze a case study for the assets and growth areas
necessary for employability.
• Apply a comprehensive model to assess employability.
• Acquire some new perspectives and strategies for
helping clients become more employable.
Objectives
• Employability skills are transferable core skill
groups that represent essential functional and
enabling knowledge, skills, and attitudes required
by the 21st century workplace. They are necessary
for career success at all levels of employment and
for all levels of education (Overtoom, 2000).
• Employability Skills 2000. (Conference Board of
Canada)
• 21st Century Skills for Workplace Success (USA)
Employability Skills
(narrowly defined)
• Psycho-social, multi-faceted, person-centered construct
• Help workers to adapt (acquire, fulfill and obtain) to
work roles
• Adapting makes use of a number of competencies –
attitudes, knowledge and skills.
• These competencies exist on a number of hierarchical
levels: knowledge of self, world of work; decision skills,
technical skills, human-relation skills, personal qualities.
Employability Skills
(broadly defined)
• See handout
Case study
1. What personality tendencies can you assess that may
influence this client's behavior?
2. What self-constructs can you identify that may influence
this client's behavior?
3. What assets (both personal and environmental) does this
client bring to the job search process?
4. What roles are evident or being established at this point
in her development?
Case Study Questions
• Self- regulatory, psychosocial competencies
• Strategies and behaviors to achieve work goals
• Strengths/capacities that are used at the person-inenvironment intersection
• Second-order generally indicates an extended or higher
complexity.
• Components of Employability
• Career Adaptability
• Human and Social Capital
• Career Identity
Employability
Personal Factors:
• Optimism – hope concerning the career challenge and
future
• Propensity to learn – threats to jobs and opportunities
elsewhere
• Openness – embrace the learning, exploration
• Internal locus of control – intentional decision-making
• Generalized self-efficacy – perceptions/judgements about
the ability to handle life-events
Career Adaptability
• Human – personal resources
• Includes age, education, work experience, job performance,
cognitive ability, etc.
• Education and experience – best predictors
• Experience – builds proficiency and tacit knowledge
(portable skills)
• Investments: continuous learning and adaptive orientation
• Social – social networks
• Provided information and influence to the job seeker
• Strong social networks contribute support and cooperation
• Span organizations and time
Human and Social Capital
• Cognitive schemas that merge together
personality, knowledge, skills, aspirations,
motivation, values, opportunities, etc.
• Coherent narratives that frame, give meaning to
and provide continuity between past, present
and future career experiences
• Requires external validation
• Is a self-regulative process
Career identity
Employability Skills
Career Adaptability
Human and Social Capital
Career Identity
Concern
Control
Curiosity
Confidence
Human
Social
Self Schemas
Optimism
Desire
to learn
Openness
Self-efficacy
Vision
Intuition
Education
Experience
Networks
Self-efficacy
Motivation
Internal Locus
of Control
Planning
Skills
Time management skills
Thinking
strategies
Ability to
monitor the
process
Information
Gathering
Strategies
Employability Skills
Locus of Control
Self-esteem
Roles
Self-confidence
• Developing client readiness – cope with change
• Focus clients to look ahead and around
• Assess: planfulness, exploration of self and situation,
decision-making skills
Counselling for
Adaptability
• Career adaptability
• Focus on outcomes
• Willingness to change
• Competencies need to change
• Focus on work role
Goals for Adaptability
•
•
•
•
Prepare the client for change (conditions for growth)
Facilitate reflection on work roles
Identify work and career motives
Document the clients “narrative” of career identity to self
and others
Counselling for career identity
• Receptive to feedback
• Confidence
• Safety
• Openness and interest to grow
• Acquiring a repertoire of career roles
• Negotiating work-family conflicts
Goals for career identity
Organizational performance domain:
Dominant personal motive:
Exploitation production, results
Exploration innovation, change
Distinction Autonomy/agency
Self-assertion
Maker
Expert
Integration Connectedness, belonging,
cooperation, sharing
Presenter
Guide
Structure Cohesion/meaning;
institutional structure
Director
Inspirator
The career roles model: six
classes of career roles.
• Personal Management Skills
• demonstrate positive attitudes and behaviours
confidence; feels good about self; integrity;
show interest, initiative, and effort
• be responsible accountable
• be adaptable open to change; learn from
mistakes; accept feedback
• Learn continuously curiosity
• Work safely
Employability Skills 2000+
• Fundamental Skills
• communicate appreciates the POV of others
• manage information
• use numbers
• think and solve problems
Employability Skills 2000+
• Teamwork Skills
• work with others
• participate in projects and tasks
understand roles; lead or support
Employability Skills 2000+