A review of empirical studies on employability and measures of employability

This chapter focuses on employability as a construct for career construction and life construction in the 21st century. Employability is a valuable individual resource that can be enhanced to help people face a constantly changing labor market characterized by unpredictability and insecurity. The chapter commences with the definition of employability, tracing its evolution through the years, and then discusses the different instruments that are available to measure the construct scientifically. The chapter continues with a review of empirical studies on employability. This review focuses on the antecedents as well as the outcomes of employability (in terms of subjective outcomes and objective outcomes). The aim is to broaden the reflection on employability as an individual strength that can be increased through specific training to help people meet the challenges of the 21st century with greater confidence.