Career technical education plays an important part in the mission of community colleges – providing educational opportunities needed by members of their communities. Career technical programs prepare students for entry into the workforce. Accountability standards for career technical programs, from local, state, and federal bodies, monitor placement of career technical graduates in jobs related to their field of study. To help these students become more competitive in the job market, curricula are being aligned with national certifications to help students graduate from career technical programs with stackable credentials. Stackable credentials refer to the idea of “stacking” degrees, certifications, and credentials along the way to an education in a particular field of study. Some of these credentials can be costly, though, requiring career technical program administrators to question whether implementing this stackable credential structure is truly beneficial for the students. The purpose of this study was to examine survey results of industry representatives who serve on advisory committees for career technical programs at a rural community college to ascertain whether earning stackable credentials in career technical programs at a rural community college does increase opportunities for employment. Data were obtained from an Industry Input Survey conducted at a rural community college. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Results of this study indicate that while entry-level employment requirements focus more on a high-school diploma or high school equivalency exam and an earned Associate of Applied Science degree, the majority of participants did indicate that holding a national certification would give a potential employee hiring preferences. Results of the analysis are presented in narrative and table form. Conclusions and recommendations for future research follow discussion of analysis.

Denna studie syftade till att undersöka nyexaminerade personalvetares självupplevda anställningsbarhet och få en nyanserad förståelse för vem som bär ansvaret för anställningsbarheten. Studien har utgått från följande tre forskningsfrågor: I vilken utsträckning upplever personalvetare att de är anställningsbara efter avslutad akademisk utbildning? och Vem ansvarar enligt personalvetares upplevelser för deras anställningsbarhet på arbetsplatsen? och Vem bör enligt personalvetare ta ansvar för deras anställningsbarhet? Dessa frågeställningar har besvarats genom en kvalitativ forskningsmetod där semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med åtta nyexaminerade personalvetare. Datainsamlingen har följts av fenomenologisk databearbetning som mynnat ut i en tematisk analys utifrån de teoretiska utgångspunkterna fenomenologi och anställningsbarhet. Resultaten har visat att majoriteten av de nyexaminerade personalvetarna upplevde sig anställningsbara efter avslutad utbildning, men att de informanter som erhållit arbetslivserfarenhet inom HR-arbete under studietiden upplevde sig anställningsbara i högre utsträckning än de som inte hade praktisk erfarenhet vid examen. Personalvetarnas upplevelser visade sig vara att mindre formella tillfällen främjade deras anställningsbarhet i stor utsträckning, exempelvis genom samtal med kollegor eller närmsta chef. Slutligen delade samtliga informanter upplevelsen att ansvaret för sin anställningsbarhet bör ligga hos de själva, men att i vilken utsträckning en individ kan lyckas göra sig mer anställningsbar både kan begränsas samt möjliggöras av arbetsgivaren. Utifrån resultatet kan det slutligen sägas att det är praktiska erfarenheter som bidrar till den självupplevda anställningsbarheten i störst utsträckning, men att ansvaret för att gagna de erfarenheterna ligger på individnivå idag. Det individuella ansvaret är samtidigt något som upplevdes positivt av personalvetarna vilket kan ses som studiens huvudsakliga bidrag.

Graduate employability skills have become one of the most important topics on the higher education agenda in the first decade of the 21st century. In the United States, and throughout the world, global competition, growth of a knowledge-based economy, technological advances, and the multigenerational workforce have combined to substantially alter the contemporary workplace (Gedye & Chalkey, 2006). Whether by choice or circumstance, the expectation of a secure lifelong position with one employer and the opportunity for linear career progression are no longer typical nor practical in the contemporary workplace (Harvey, Locke, & Morey, 2002). Employability skills are those skills, attributes, and behaviors, e.g., communication skills, problem-solving, organization, and planning, that bridge most disciplines, industries, and employing organizations. They have the greatest impact on the sustained, productive, successful employment of graduates (Cranmer, 2006; Gedye, Fender, & Chalkey, 2004). The purpose of this study was to (a) identify the employability skills employers perceive to be important for entry-level management/management-in-training positions in the hospitality industry, (b) to establish employability skills competency levels employers expect for these positions, and (c) to garner employer perceptions of Rosen College of Hospitality Management (RCHM) interns’ and new graduates’ employability skills competence for entry-level management/management-in-training positions in the hospitality industry. The findings add to the body of literature and provide insight into the need for further employability skills development of students prior to graduation and entrance into iv the workforce. Additionally, the study provides information and insight for faculty, career services, and experiential learning professionals regarding the skills students currently possess, the need for further skills development, and those skills employers deem most important

This qualitative study aims to reach further understanding of how social workers at the Swedish Public Employment Service perceive structural racism in the Swedish labor market for second-generation afro-swedes. The study is conducted in Sweden. The first part of the research focused on the main reasons second-generation Afro-Swedes risk social exclusion from the Swedish labor market, while the second part focused on discriminatory employment and the third part covered strategies to tackle structural racism and to improve social inclusion of second-generation Afro-Swedes. The Theoretical framework of social exclusion was used to analyse the study findings. Through semi-structured interviews, four social workers expressed their views of various factors of structural racism second-generation afro-swedes experience in the Swedish labor market. The result shows that second-generation Afro-Swedes experiencing structural racism in the Swedish labor market are likely to experience social exclusion in the Swedish community. It was shown that factors such as cultural incompetency, discriminatory employment and education play significant roles in structural racism and social exclusion.

Denna studie undersöker hur jobbcoacher framställer nyanländas anställningsbarhet och utsatta position på den svenska arbetsmarknaden. Genom en socialkonstruktivistiskt ansats och kvalitativ metod, har vi intervjuat sju jobbcoacher om deras framställning av nyanländas anställningsbarhet. Studien undersöker även hur jobbcoacher resonerar och beskriver vilka hinder och möjligheter nyanlända möter i etableringen på den svenska arbetsmarknad. Studien undersöker ytterligare hur jobbcoachernas beskrivningar kan förstås utifrån kritiska teorier om andrafiering, fördomar och diskriminering. Resultatet visar att jobbcoacherna framställer att nyanlända befinner sig i en utsatt situation och att de möter flertalet hinder vid etablering på den svenska arbetsmarknaden. Språkkunskaper i det svenska språket, bristande nätverk och arbetsgivares attityder är tre exempel på hinder som nyanlända möts av. Resultatet visar vidare att nyanlända erbjuds insatser som språkträning och intervjuträning. Slutligen visar studien att jobbcoachernas beskrivning av nyanländas anställningsbarhet kan förstås som en slags “andrafierad” bild av nyanlända eftersom de målas upp som en “annorlunda” grupp på arbetsmarknaden i behov av särskilda insatser. Vi hoppas att studien bidrar med förståelse och kunskap om nyanländas situation på den svenska arbetsmarknaden. / This study investigate how job coaches presents newcomers' employability and their vulnerable position in the Swedish labour market. Through a social constructivist approach and qualitative method, we have interviewed seven job coaches about their portrayal of new arrivals' employability. The study also examines how job coaches' reason and describes what obstacles and opportunities newcomers encounter in their establishing in the Swedish labour market. The study further investigates how job coaches' descriptions can be understood on the basis of critical theories of ‘othering’, prejudices and discrimination. The results show that job coaches represent newcomer's vulnerable situation and that they encounter several obstacles in their establishing in the Swedish labour market. Language skills in the Swedish language, lack of networks and the attitude of employers are three examples of obstacles that new arrivals encounter. The results also show that newcomers are offered supportive measures, such as language training and interview training. Finally, the study shows that job coaches descriptions of newcomer's employability can be understood as a kind of "othering" image of newcomers because they are presented as a "different" group in the labour market, in need of special efforts. We hope that this study contributes with understanding and knowledge of the situation of newcomers in the Swedish labour market.

In our increasingly competitive world, it is critical that college graduates enter the workplace with the appropriate skills to not only survive but also grow their career. Current college graduates have not consistently acquired the skills needed for success in the workplace to learn and thrive continuously in our rapidly changing world. The Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Science must identify the specific strategies that develop best the needed skills for the success of the graduate and society The purpose of the study was to identify a land grant college of agriculture and life sciences' (LGCALS) current programmatic and classroom strategies for developing students' ability to learn and thrive continuously in our rapidly changing world and a (1) explore programmatic strategies for developing students' ability to continuously learn and thrive; (2) explore innovative instructors classroom strategies for developing students' ability to learn and thrive continuously; (3) describe graduates perceptions of career readiness as measured through the bases of competence inventory, and finally; (4) compare programmatic strategies, classroom strategies and graduates' perceptions for career readiness. A mixed methods convergent parallel design guided the research. Qualitative interviews were employed for exploring experiences using an interpretive, constructivist, and naturalistic approach for research objectives 1 and 2. A cross sectional survey design and questionnaire, Making the Match, was used to conduct the quantitative research for objective 3. The mixed methods portion of the convergent parallel design was used to frame and explore research objective 4. Findings of the study detail need for curriculum improvement in problem solving, learning, time management, creativity and change, and personal strengths. / Ph. D.

Amidst the ever-evolving dynamics of the labour market, business graduates continuallyfind themselves adapting their skill sets to stay competitive and relevant. Extensiveresearch has delved into employability, highlighting the pivotal role of soft skills inadequately preparing business students for today's labour market. Notably, existingliterature indicates that the cultivation of these skills often occurs during youth and isparticularly profound within university settings. However, a debate arises regarding theeffectiveness of business universities in imparting soft skills to students. Given this, priorstudies advocate for closer collaboration between business schools and industry to aligneducation with professional demands and equip students with essential soft skills. In thiscontext, internships emerge as a focal point, with previous research emphasizing theirrole in effectively developing soft skills among students. However, there remains a needfor further research to comprehensively understand how internships influence the processof the development of soft skills. Through a qualitative study and the incorporation ofwell-known theories related to this area, we will delve deeper into this subject. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of internships in enhancing theemployability of business students by contribution to the process of developing four keysoft skills: communication, teamwork, self-management, and problem-solving. Thisobjective is pursued by addressing the following research questions: How can internshipscontribute to the process of the development of communication, teamwork, self-management, and problem-solving skills among Swedish nationals enrolled in businesseducation programs? To achieve this, we conducted in-depth interviews with sevenformer business administration students, all of whom completed internships. Theseindividuals secured employment before their graduation dates, spanning from 2022 to2023, and are all Swedish nationals who pursued their business education at universitiesin Sweden. Through these interviews, we gained insights into their subjectiveexperiences. It has been found, with the application of the experiential learning theory, human capitaltheory, and emotional intelligence theory, that internships indeed contribute to the processof developing communication, teamwork, self-management, and problem-solving skillsamong business students. Furthermore, enhances students’ employability. The analysisindicates that alumni collectively emphasize that internships significantly contribute tothe development of these soft skills, crediting practical experiences, increasedresponsibility, and exposure to workplace dynamics. Consequently, we suggest thatbusiness students should engage in internships. Further, that both business universitiesand organizations at large should encourage and support them in achieving this goal

The objectives of the study were firstly to determine the relationship between employability attributes (measured by the Employability Attributes Scale), career adaptability (measured by the Career-Adapt Abilities Scale) and retention factors (measured by the Retention Factor Scale), and, secondly, to determine whether employees from different age, gender, race, tenure and job level groups differ significantly in their levels of employability attributes, career adaptability and retention factors. A cross-sectional quantitative, correlational research design was followed. The non-probability sample consisted of 321 permanently employed salaried employees in a South African automotive manufacturing company. Descriptive statistics, correlations, structural equation modelling and regressions were used for data analysis. The data analysis revealed significant associations between the career metacompetencies and retention factors. In addition, significant differences were found between age, gender, race, tenure and job level groups. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

In a rapid changing environment mining companies have to change the way in which they do business, while employees have to manage their careers and ensure they are multi-skilled. Organisations are looking to employ individuals who are career driven, highly adaptable and flexible and display the necessary employability skills. The main purpose of this study was to determine if any relationship exists between the different factors of graduate employability and work performance in the mining industry in South Africa. A cross-sectional quantitative research approach was followed. A simple random sample was drawn from graduate male and female employees between the ages of 18 – 30 years with any post-matric qualification employed in the mining industry in South Africa. Through the process of exploratory factor analysis, six graduate employability factors and four work performance factors were identified. The graduate employability factors included career self-management drive, cultural competence, career resilience, emotional literacy, career literacy and self-efficacy. The work performance factors included the supervisor role, employee role, recognition and organisation support. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted. The results indicated a relationship between graduate employability and work performance. Strong, positive correlations were found between graduate employability and work performance with career self-management drive being the strongest predictor of work performance. Recommendations for the mining industry focused on how employability could be enhanced to improve work performance. / Human Resource Management / M. Com. (Human Resource Management)

The objectives of the study were firstly to determine the relationship between employability attributes (measured by the Employability Attributes Scale), career adaptability (measured by the Career-Adapt Abilities Scale) and retention factors (measured by the Retention Factor Scale), and, secondly, to determine whether employees from different age, gender, race, tenure and job level groups differ significantly in their levels of employability attributes, career adaptability and retention factors. A cross-sectional quantitative, correlational research design was followed. The non-probability sample consisted of 321 permanently employed salaried employees in a South African automotive manufacturing company. Descriptive statistics, correlations, structural equation modelling and regressions were used for data analysis. The data analysis revealed significant associations between the career metacompetencies and retention factors. In addition, significant differences were found between age, gender, race, tenure and job level groups. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)