Globally competitive businesses have gone through a lot of change over the last few years, even decades. Organisations need to keep abreast with what is happening around them in order for them to reach their strategic targets. Over the past few years, many organisations realised that their most valuable assets are their employees and the knowledge that they possess. The main key to retaining employees is nested in a positive employment relationship. Current organisations, and more specifically mining organisations, are encountering great difficulty in maintaining a positive relationship with their employees; the numerous strikes bearing testimony to this. Some of these strikes lasted for long periods and one even ended in lives being lost. These days, many mining companies find themselves in escalating financial turmoil, due to human capital problems resulting in labour unrest and subsequent inoperativeness. Therefore, establishing and maintaining a positive employment relationship is of cardinal importance in recruiting and retaining quality employees who will give the organisation a competitive edge. One factor that contributes greatly to a positive employment relationship which is conducive towards promoting positive individual and organisational outcomes is the psychological contract. Fulfilment of the psychological contract where employers offer employees opportunities for personal growth, career advancement, and a supportive work environment will lead to employees experiencing job satisfaction, organisational citizenship behaviour and propensity to remain with the organisation. Violation of the psychological contract, however, will lead to discontent, resulting in increased turnover propensity. The way in which employees perceive their own employability might also have an effect on their decision whether or not to stay with the organisation that has violated their psychological contracts. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of the psychological contract and employability in a mining organisation and to determine the outcomes thereof. A quantitative approach was used to gather data. The questionnaires were distributed to employees (N = 205) across all levels within a mining organisation. The measuring instruments used were the Psychological Contract Inventory, Violations of Psychological Contract Questionnaire, Employability Scale, Job Satisfaction Scale, Organisational Citizenship Behaviour Scale and Turnover Intention Scale. Results in Article 1 (Chapter 2) showed that job satisfaction displayed a strong, positive relationship with psychological contract fulfilment and with organisational citizenship behaviour. Job dissatisfaction impacted turnover intention negatively. Furthermore, psychological contract fulfilment had an indirect positive impact on low turnover intention and organisational citizenship behaviour via job satisfaction. Article 2 (Chapter 3) showed that external employability displayed a strong, positive relationship with internal employability; whereas psychological contract violation had a significant positive relationship with turnover intention. It was further found that external employability moderated the relationship between psychological contract violation and turnover intention. / MCom (Labour Relations Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

Globally competitive businesses have gone through a lot of change over the last few years, even decades. Organisations need to keep abreast with what is happening around them in order for them to reach their strategic targets. Over the past few years, many organisations realised that their most valuable assets are their employees and the knowledge that they possess. The main key to retaining employees is nested in a positive employment relationship. Current organisations, and more specifically mining organisations, are encountering great difficulty in maintaining a positive relationship with their employees; the numerous strikes bearing testimony to this. Some of these strikes lasted for long periods and one even ended in lives being lost. These days, many mining companies find themselves in escalating financial turmoil, due to human capital problems resulting in labour unrest and subsequent inoperativeness. Therefore, establishing and maintaining a positive employment relationship is of cardinal importance in recruiting and retaining quality employees who will give the organisation a competitive edge. One factor that contributes greatly to a positive employment relationship which is conducive towards promoting positive individual and organisational outcomes is the psychological contract. Fulfilment of the psychological contract where employers offer employees opportunities for personal growth, career advancement, and a supportive work environment will lead to employees experiencing job satisfaction, organisational citizenship behaviour and propensity to remain with the organisation. Violation of the psychological contract, however, will lead to discontent, resulting in increased turnover propensity. The way in which employees perceive their own employability might also have an effect on their decision whether or not to stay with the organisation that has violated their psychological contracts. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of the psychological contract and employability in a mining organisation and to determine the outcomes thereof. A quantitative approach was used to gather data. The questionnaires were distributed to employees (N = 205) across all levels within a mining organisation. The measuring instruments used were the Psychological Contract Inventory, Violations of Psychological Contract Questionnaire, Employability Scale, Job Satisfaction Scale, Organisational Citizenship Behaviour Scale and Turnover Intention Scale. Results in Article 1 (Chapter 2) showed that job satisfaction displayed a strong, positive relationship with psychological contract fulfilment and with organisational citizenship behaviour. Job dissatisfaction impacted turnover intention negatively. Furthermore, psychological contract fulfilment had an indirect positive impact on low turnover intention and organisational citizenship behaviour via job satisfaction. Article 2 (Chapter 3) showed that external employability displayed a strong, positive relationship with internal employability; whereas psychological contract violation had a significant positive relationship with turnover intention. It was further found that external employability moderated the relationship between psychological contract violation and turnover intention. / MCom (Labour Relations Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

Youth employability in South Africa has become an important focus for career counsellors. This study investigated the relationship between the employability (as measured by the Southern African Employability Inventory) and emotional intelligence (as measured by the Assessing Emotions Scale) of individuals within the school-to-work transition phase. A random sample of 590 Grade 9 and Grade 12 further education and post-school (recently exited) students from a total population of 1349 participated in the study. The research findings indicated that participants’ level of employability is significantly related to their emotional intelligence. Recommendations are postulated for the career counselling of individuals in the school-to-work career transition phase. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Youth employability in South Africa has become an important focus for career counsellors. This study investigated the relationship between the employability (as measured by the Southern African Employability Inventory) and emotional intelligence (as measured by the Assessing Emotions Scale) of individuals within the school-to-work transition phase. A random sample of 590 Grade 9 and Grade 12 further education and post-school (recently exited) students from a total population of 1349 participated in the study. The research findings indicated that participants’ level of employability is significantly related to their emotional intelligence. Recommendations are postulated for the career counselling of individuals in the school-to-work career transition phase. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

University graduates stand at the dawn of their careers, seeking meaningful employment in a labour market that is characterised by volatile change and globalisation. This new world of work requires flexibility, versatility, and creativity ‒ skills not traditionally required of an employee. Graduates today are required to develop a skills-set that enables pro-active career behaviour and, furthermore, aid the employer to utilise such abilities as business solutions. There is a lack of consensual scientific knowledge available on employability, despite the rise in its importance to the 21st century employer and graduate employee. This is especially true for the South African context. Accordingly, the main aim of this study was to investigate the employability and psychological career resources of graduate students to identify the strengths and development areas of the sample. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of standardised instruments, specifically the Psychological Career Resources Inventory (PCRI, developed by Coetzee, 2008) and the Graduate Employability Measure (GEM, developed by Bezuidenhout, 2011), was distributed to a random sample of 113 final-year students from the Faculty of Economic and Management Science of the University of Pretoria. The results indicate a strong employability profile with few clear-cut development areas. Students believe themselves to have high levels of career resilience (mean = 4.94; SD 0.75), whilst also having a strong inclination to the openness to change dimension (mean = 4.86; SD = 0.59), pointing to an overall all adaptable orientation to their careers. In terms of the psychological career resources profile, the sample presented with high scores on all dimensions namely: career preferences, career values, career purpose, career harmonisers, and career drivers. This prevailing positive perception regarding psychological career resources can be seen as balanced, and thus facilitates adaptive, proactive career behaviour, which, in turn, influences general employability. This result is validated by the high mean scores on all employability dimensions. It is also evident that there are no significant differences to be observed between men and women across all dimensions measured, indicating that men and women are equally likely to be proactively involved in their career-management in order to develop the skills required to be seen as employable. Furthermore, there is evidence of significant relationships between the majority of psychological career resources dimensions and those of the graduate employability dimensions. These results are expected to add valuable insights to the field of career management literature and human resources practices alike, which, in turn, will inform graduates regarding their prospects. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

Thesis (M. Ed.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / This mini-dissertation describes the research report carried out at Senwamokgope Township, Greater Letaba Municipality in Limpopo Province where a study was undertaken to investigate the effects of training offered in Expanded Public Works Programme projects on youth employability. The research is undertaken at a time in South Africa where job losses and retrenchment of employees are experienced in all sectors of government and the private sector. The South African government took a serious stance in their approach towards job creation by introducing trainings that are supposedly aimed at creating job opportunities for all citizens across the country with special attention to women and the youths. The aim of my study is to investigate whether the training offered during EPWP projects contribute to youth employability. As the researcher I therefore came up with the following questions;  What are the effects of training offered in the Expanded Public Works Programme on youth employability at Senwamokgope Township? To answer this question adequately I added sub questions. These are listed below;  How many youths according to gender are offered training?  What kind of training is been offered to youths in Expanded Public Works Programme?  How is the training contributing to employability of youths?  What are the characteristics of the youths participating in the Expanded Public Works Programme? ii This study seeks to answer the questions mentioned above. It is an attempt to determine the effects that are brought about by the intervention strategies that government engages its people in order to create work opportunities and jobs. If the effectiveness of the training can be seen it will subsequently serve the purpose of encouraging youth participation in other programmes. Data was collected through interviews. The training provider, 1 contractor, 8 youths and one official from Greater Letaba Municipality were interviewed. The data collected was then analyzed and a detailed report was drawn up with recommendations. The data was analysed using a data matrix and in conclusion the following findings were made.  All youths who went through the training are glad that they were trained .They have achieved skills which they did not have before the training.  The study has revealed that the municipality spends more money in wages on youths according to the labour force.  The effort by government through the municipality in EPWP has brought an increased number of youths in to the work environment and this has reduced the number of idle youths.  This initiative of the government has aroused confidence in the youth and they begin to aspire for greater things.  In the past years the Greater Letaba Municipality has been able to create jobs in Senwamokgope Township where youths benefitted in large numbers

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Anställningsbarhet anses vara av värde för flera intressenter, däribland samhället, företagen och individen. Vårt examensarbete behandlar anställningsbarhet för studie- och yrkesvägledare. Vi har uppmärksammat att konkurrensen om vägledningstjänster är hård i Skåne. Vi ämnade därför undersöka vad som gör en studie- och yrkesvägledare, eller annan aspirant till vägledningstjänster, anställningsbar. Vi begränsade oss dock till att undersöka vad som ökar möjligheten för en studie- och yrkesvägledare att bli kallad till just anställningsintervju, för vägledningstjänster. Detta gjorde vi genom att använda en, av oss upprättad, kriterielista med anställningsbarhetskriterier. Kriterierna på listan fick sedan arbetsgivare inom sex olika vägledningsområden i Skåne prioritera och diskutera. Vidare jämförde vi detta utfall med Sveriges Vägledarförenings, och Studie- och yrkesvägledarföreningen i Lärarnas Riksförbunds, prioritering av samma kriterielista. Detta eftersom vår föreställning är att dessa föreningar kan bidra till studie- och yrkesvägledares ökade anställningsbarhet, förutsatt att de har samma syn på anställningsbarhet som arbetsgivarna har. Vår slutsats är att de anställningsbarhetskriterier som väger tyngst, hos studiens arbetsgivare, vid kallande till anställningsintervju för vägledningstjänster är: studie- och yrkesvägledarutbildning, arbetslivserfarenhet inom branschen, bred arbetslivserfarenhet inom olika branscher, eftergymnasial utbildning inom branschen samt professionella/välformulerade ansökningshandlingar. Vidare kom vi fram till att samstämmigheten, mellan å ena sidan arbetsgivarnas svar och å andra sidan svaren från Sveriges Vägledarförening, är hög gällande vissa kriterier, men skiljer sig mycket gällande andra. Detta gäller även för jämförelsen mellan arbetsgivares syn på anställningsbarhet och Studie- och yrkesvägledarföreningen i Lärarnas Riksförbunds syn på detsamma. / Employability is regarded to be valuable for several actors, among them the society, the enterprises and the individual. Our essay considers employability for career counsellors. We have noticed that competition for counsellor posts is hard in Skåne. Our aim was therefore to examine what makes a career counsellor, or other candidates for counsellor posts, employable. Yet we limited the essay to examine what increases the possibilities for a career counsellor to be summoned interviews, for counsellor posts. We did this by using a list of criteria of employability, established by us. The criterions on the list later got ranked and discussed by employers within six different counsellor areas in Skåne. Then we compared these results with the priorities of the Sveriges Vägledarförening, and Studie- och yrkesvägledarföreningen i Lärarnas Riksförbund. This because our conception is that these institutions can contribute to increased employability for a career counsellor, presupposed that they have the same vision of employability as the employers do. Our conclusion is that the five most important criteria for employability once summoned to a job interview for counsellor posts are, according to the employers in this study: career counsellor education, work experience within the trade, wide work experience within different trades, education in a higher level than upper secondary school within the trade and professional/well formulated application forms. We also made the conclusions that the consensus between, on one hand the answers of the employers and on the other hand the answers of Sveriges Vägledarförening, is high concerning certain criteria, but is very different concerning others. This also concerns the comparison between the idea of employability among the employers and the idea of the same of Studie- och yrkesvägledarföreningen i Lärarnas Riksförbund.

This thesis examines the effects of de-industrialisation on the lives of adult learners attending adult education programmes in the former coal mining and steel working communities of County Durham. It presents the outcomes of a qualitative study of life history stories which are 'person centred'. Focusing on the subjective experiences of learners, both past and present, was an appropriate way in which the learner voice could be heard as well as helping to understand their experiences and views on the effects that de- industrialisation has had on their lives, and if lifelong learning was improving their life chances. The importance of social class and gender in configuring and understanding adult learner experiences are critical factors whilst, at the same time, the collective resources of these working class communities have been systematically undermined. Furthermore, the provision of publically funded adult education has declined dramatically since the 1980s. Through the prism of learners' lives the study explores experiences of employability skills programmes and community adult education programmes on shaping the position, disposition and identity of learners who have experienced a major trauma to their communities, their families and themselves. Ontological insecurity, a product of de-industrialisation, has a critical impact on the lives of these adults. The thesis adopts Hirschman's (1970) framework of 'Exit, Loyalty and Voice', originally used to frame the responses of workers confronting the possibility of job losses in a firm, as a way of understanding the reactions of adult learners to the impact of de-industrialisation on communities. In Hirschman's framework the relationship between exit, loyalty and voice followed a distinctive pattern. Loyalty, for example, was the opposite of voice, as people in a firm stayed silent in order to be saved from job loss. In this study, loyalty to the community has enabled individuals to benefit from support and community provision, which has given them a lifeline for survival and a step on the way to finding a voice. Exit, in the original framework, involved proactive workers getting 'ahead of the curve' by finding alternative employment before others. In this study, employability skills training - as a resource for exit - does not deliver. Instead, it systematically demoralises individuals and undermines their capacity to act. It involves churning learners between welfare and more training programmes and, where and when available, into short-term work. The overall impact has resulted in the social exclusion of these learners from the labour market and from the community - the opposite of agency. It is argued that this is a paradox given that social and economic inclusion was an aim of lifelong learning policies. The thesis challenges the claim of neoliberal ideology that purports to promote the freedom of individuals to determine their own fate. Those attending employability skills programmes are expected to find solutions to structural problems, and are subjected to coercive methods through psychological interventions that are expected to bring about attitudinal behaviour changes to achieve employability. It is argued that this is a paradox given deficient labour market conditions which are beyond the control of the learner. Attention is given to public sector community adult education that once offered liberating models of adult education, but have now been subjected to the logic of neoliberal governmentality. This is creating new 'subjectivities' for educators, who are being coerced to deliver learning for the economy rather than social purpose education. What has emerged is a new role of the employability trainer.

La culture informationnelle constitue une des compétences attribuées à l’employabilité des individus dans l’actuelle société de l’information, des connaissances et du savoir (SICS). En exigeant des compétences employables (CE), celle-ci prend à notre sens une nouvelle dimension (SICS&CE) faisant ainsi transiter le marché du travail du concept du « marché d’emploi » d’attributions fixes et de routines classiques à celui du « marché d’employabilité (MEMP) » sollicitant la flexibilité et les compétences adoptives et adaptatives aux changements socio-économiques. Désormais, la veille stratégique en général et précisément numérique, œuvre par son « Processus de production d’information et des connaissances » à développer la culture informationnelle de veille sur Internet (CIVI) pour améliorer les diverses compétences individuelles. Dans ce sens, cette thèse vient dans le cadre d’une analyse qualitative et une approche exploratoire interprétative, traiter la problématique du développement de la qualité des compétences définissant l’employabilité des apprenants, futurs diplômés universitaires. Elle cherche à savoir dans quelle mesure une veille pédagogique et stratégique universitaire peut améliorer la qualité de leurs compétences employables en culture CIVI, en adoptant dans son processus de production informationnelle, un marketing relationnel orienté-marché impliquant les apprenants universitaires en tant que « clients internes », aussi bien que les acteurs du marché d’employabilité en tant que « clients externes » ? En évoluant dans une perspective socio-constructiviste, des séries d’évaluations sur les compétences et les satisfactions des apprenants aussi bien que des modèles d’évaluation de leurs compétences en CIVI ont été élaborés dans le cadre d’une approche par compétence (APC) adoptant un marketing relationnel interne et externe. Cette approche se caractérise en premier lieu par une : « Orientation-Implication des Apprenants-Clients : OI-APCL » et en second lieu par une « Orientation-Implication du Marché d’employabilité : OI-MEMP », se basant sur un blog pédagogique en tant que Système informationnel et outil de veille Web.2.0, destiné à développer la compétence en culture informationnelle des apprenants. Ceci nous a conduit à constater dans le cadre de l’orientation vers une université d’employabilité, l’amélioration des taux des compétences par la baisse des groupes profanes en culture CIVI, passant de 88,74% à 41,94% et un taux de besoin de formation en culture CIVI passant de 89,50% à 46,50% conduisant à la satisfaction des apprenants et des acteurs d’employabilité impliqués dans notre travail et le recrutement de trois groupes des 20 binômes apprenants/diplômés concernés par notre travail, Ces résultats amènent à recommander l’adoption d’une « veille d’employabilité » pour le développement de la qualité des compétences individuelles dans une société SICS&CE sollicitant désormais en plus des connaissances et du savoir, l’actualisation par l’apprentissage à vie et la flexibilité d’adaptation aux changements et innovations, définissant ainsi l’employabilité des individus. / Information literacy is one of competences conferred to individual employability in information and knowledge society (IKS). By Requiring employable skills (EC), this society acquires a new dimension (SICS & CE) and passes labor market from classic concept of "job market" to "employability market (MEMP)" seeking flexibility and adaptive skills to changes. Foresight Scanning in general and specifically digital one, works by its "Information and Knowledge Production Process" to develop information literacy/Internet (CIVI) to improve various individual skills. In this sense, this thesis evolves in a qualitative and interpretative exploratory approach, to treat the issue of quality skills development, defining the employability of university students. It seeks to know how a universities’ foresight scanning will improve quality of their employable CIVI culture skill, by adopting in its informational production process, a market-oriented relational marketing involving university students as "internal customers ", as well as employability market actors as" external customers " ?Evolving in a socio-constructivist perspective, series of evaluations on skills and satisfactions of learners as well as their skills CIVI assessment models were developed as part of a competency based approach (SBA) adopting a relational internal and external marketing. This approach is characterized firstly by an "Orientation-Involvement of Learners-Clients: OI-APCL" and secondly by an "Orientation-Involvement of employability market: OI-MEMP," based on an educational blog as informational Web.2.0 System and monitoring tool designed to develop competency in information literacy learners. This led us to conclude in the orientation forward an employability university, skills levels improvement by declining secular groups CIVI culture, from 88.74% to 41.94% and a need for training CIVI rate of Culture from 89.50% to 46.50% resulting to learner employability and the recruitment of three groups of the 20 pairs graduate students involved in our work, This recommends adoption of an " Foresight Scanning employability" for quality development skills in SICS&CE society seeking now more than information and knowledge, but also flexibility skills to adapt changes and innovations defining really individual employability.