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Locus of control is the perception of an individual's perception about events in his or her life. This paper aims to improve police ethical standards using a counselling approach, locus of control to reduce police corruption in Nigeria.

A pre‐test, post‐test and control group quasi‐experimental approach using a 2 × 2×2 factorial matrix was employed in the study. Participants were 200 police personnel conveniently sampled from Oyo and Lagos State Police Commands, Nigeria. Quantitative data were collected with a 100 per cent success rate using a valid and reliable instrument, the police ethical behaviour scale (PEBS).

Results of the study using analysis of covariance and t‐test statistics on three generated hypotheses indicated that locus of control as a counselling technique could significantly reduce police corruption. The moderating effect of gender and career status on the intervention (locus of control) showed that female participants and senior police officers demonstrated a stronger reduction on the corruption measure.

This study was limited to only two State Police Commands out of 37 State Police Commands (including the Federal Capital Territory Command). The findings of the study have implications for police transformation in Nigeria; and on a specialised counselling practice through which locus of control as a counselling technique could be integrated into the police training.

The study fills the existing research gap by utilising locus of control as a counselling intervention strategy. It would therefore be of value to police authorities, anti‐corruption bodies, researchers, criminal justice, and academics and practioners.

The increasing complexity of global labor markets and work environments has made the school-to-work transition more difficult. We explore factors that influence important career outcomes for young adults in China as they transition from their university to the labor market. Specifically, we examine how protean career orientation, self-perceived employability, mother’s and father’s career support and human capital (English language proficiency) may influence career satisfaction and employment status during adulthood.

We collected survey data in two waves, six months apart, and obtained English proficiency ratings from university records.

Father’s and mother’s career support was significantly associated with protean career orientation and protean career orientation was significantly related to self-perceived employability. Self-perceived employability was significantly associated with career satisfaction and employment status. The career support-career satisfaction and career support-employment status relationships were fully mediated by protean career orientation and self-perceived employability. Contrary to expectations, the human capital variable of English language proficiency did not moderate the serial mediation involving either career satisfaction or employment status.

By integrating protean career theory, human capital theory and research on parental support, we offer an interdisciplinary contribution to the school-to-work transition literature. We also advance protean career theory by studying it as a mediating variable and by examining parental support as an antecedent of it.