A systematic review of measures of employability

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review empirical research on the measurement of employability, conducted in a 23-year period from 2000 to 2022.Design/methodology/approachA systematic and extensive search of the literature was conducted to select a set of studies that fit the inclusion criteria and addressed the research questions. These studies were conducted worldwide and published anytime from 2000 to 2022. The process of data extraction involved a tabulation of common themes across the studies. Thereafter, the data from the studies were analysed and interpreted to arrive at the findings.FindingsThe findings of this paper show variations in the measures of employability with respect to location, data points, domains and indicators of employability applied. Based on the type of indicators of employability applied, the studies can be categorised as those applying subjective indicators, objective indicators or a combination of the two.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper observed that there has been a great focus on measuring employability using subjective indicators. However, in order to help individuals face the unpredictability of fractious labour markets, going ahead, this measure will not be sufficient. Empirical research needs to focus on applying holistic measures of employability combining both subjective and objective indicators.Originality/valueThis paper presents a detailed categorisation of measures of employability. Thereby, the paper provides useful insights to help practitioners choose a suitable measure of employability for future studies. The paper also makes a case for widening the scope of present measures to apply the construct of employability effectively.