Employability Capital: A Conceptual Framework Tested Through Expert Analysis

Previous research attempted to identify personal resources that promote employability, that is, an individual’s chance to find and maintain employment. This has resulted in a large number of different personal resources, which are not always clearly differentiated from one another and often seem to—at least partially—overlap conceptually and/or empirically. In response, we aim at conceptual clarification and integration of what we coin “employability capital”. Based on a literature review, we developed a conceptual framework that integrates the various facets. Two types of distinctions were found: (a) an employability distinction, which differentiates between job-related, career-related, and development-related employability capital, and (b) a capital distinction, which differentiates between human capital (more specifically knowledge, skills, and attitudes) and social capital. We performed a Q-sorting study in which items of existing measurements were mapped onto the conceptual framework by subject matter experts. Overall, we found support for the conceptual framework.