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This study explores the role of social capital in the development of employability skills and attributes of first-generation undergraduate students in a business school.

The research, based on the reflections of graduates, examines the impact of social capital on participation in higher education and investigates the conditions within the learning environment, which enhance or inhibit the development of bridging and linking social capital, as students connect with networks within the institution and with the wider business community.

The findings suggest that the ability to recognise and activate bridging and linking social capital is an important determinant of employability. The analysis illustrates that when students have opportunities to connect with and work within a variety of networks, they build a range of employability skills and capabilities, particularly the interpersonal and social skills valued by employers.

Students, who are confident and have the necessary skills to participate in a variety of networks within the immediate environment and with the wider business community, are not only able to access a greater range of resources but are more able to recognise the potential benefits that these activities have to offer. The reflections of the participants also illustrate that the skills and competencies that enable them to network effectively need to be developed deliberately. By supporting students in recognising the relationship between bridging and linking social capital and employability, and giving them the opportunity to reflect upon the achievement of interpersonal skills and affective capabilities, their understanding and acknowledgement of employability is enhanced.

The purpose of this chapter is to draw attention to employability being an important social innovation that potentially thrives with transformational leadership, partly depending on certain personal characteristics such as managerial role and personality.

The study was carried out among pairs of employees (314) and immediate supervisors (334) working at a large Dutch company that produces building materials. We made use of Linear Regression and Structural Equation Modeling to test our hypothesis and explore our assumptions with regard to the research model.

We have found that transformational leadership is positively related to employee and supervisor ratings of employability. Furthermore, there is some indication that transformational leadership enhances employability in some situations, demonstrating differences between categories of workers with and without a managerial function. Moreover, it appeared that after controlling for personality, only the positive relationship between transformational leadership and supervisor ratings of employability, remained for the workers not having a managerial function.

Our study design comprised a cross-sectional approach and therefore future longitudinal research is necessary to investigate causal relationships between transformational leadership, personality, and employability.

In terms of individual career development practices, our outcomes should be translated into increased attention for aligning leadership style to meet the requirements of all types of employees across the life-span.

By providing more insight into the increased importance of transformational leadership for certain groups of workers, this contribution is intended to come up with opportunities for increasing the employability for different types of workers.

This chapter draws attention to the fact that transformational leadership can be a useful tool for stimulating employability of workers. Worker characteristics such as personality, work role (e.g., managerial role) and other life-span factors always have to be taken into account for a customized approach, given the uniqueness of each and every employee.

The changes in the economy along with various political reforms have resulted in an increased focus on enhancing the employability of higher education graduates and have challenged the traditional role of higher education such as creating informed citizens and improving the well-being of individuals and the larger society. In this era of globalization, employability of higher education graduates is considered imperative in strengthening economies and in increasing their competitiveness. This increased focus on employability calls for innovative methods and approaches for assessing the skills and competencies of graduates. Employability is a broad concept and should not be seen as synonymous with the actual employment of graduates. Given these changes in the larger economy and higher education systems, this chapter attempts to map the changes in the overall goals and objectives of higher education against various political and economic forces, and to discuss the implications of these changes with reference to ‘employability gain’ of graduates. In doing so, we first discuss various definitions of employability and identify commonalities and differences between them. Next, we examine the potential of two assessment approaches – self-reports and performance-based tests – for measuring employability gains based on research findings from two higher education quality management projects implemented in Germany.

Purpose: The paper aims to examine the link between the indicators of competitiveness of World Economic Forums (WEFs) in the area of higher education, on the one hand, and the Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 and ‘Future Orientation of Government’ sub-pillar, on the other.

Method: Consideration of the link between the mentioned link will be conducted on a sample that includes European Union member countries and potential members. The key information basis for conducting this research makes data from the Global Competitiveness Report 2019 of the WEF. The research was conducted by applying multiple regression analysis.

Findings: The results of the research show that there is a positive correlation between higher education, on the one hand, and the level of national competitiveness and sustainable development, on the other.

Practical Implications: The obtained results of empirical research can serve as a ‘global benchmark’ of future public policy in the field of higher education in the analyzed countries.

Originality/Value: The key contribution of this paper is reflected in providing a clearer insight into the competitiveness factors of the analyzed countries that are expressed in the field of sustainable development and higher education and pointing out the priority activities of competent state authorities to their improving and raising the level of national competitiveness.

This chapter adds to the volume by providing a first-hand account, discussion, and reflection on our experience of coming in as outside “experts” from Australia to develop courses for universities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This chapter provides a comparative analysis of two cases illustrating and discussing cross-cultural collaborations for curriculum development for an Industrial Design (ID) program and an interdisciplinary design program in the Middle East, namely the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This chapter aims to provide a better understanding of Quality Assurance (QA) processes and the purpose of curriculum development for employability and entrepreneurship in the MENA region. To meet this aim, we describe the planning processes for the development of the new curricula and the evolution of the programs. We reflect on the differences and similarities of QA frameworks, and their interpretation and use by the universities in the KSA, the UAE, and Australia. We compare the processes and outcomes around specialization versus inter- and transdisciplinarity, as well as around employability in traditional industry versus education for entrepreneurship and future jobs. We observed significant differences between the two recipient MENA countries, and between them and Australia. These related to the understanding and foci of the graduate attributes; the understanding and implementation of course development processes; and the responsibility of provision and oversight of QA oversight in each country. In closing the chapter, we share important learnings through our reflections.

Purpose: This chapter aims to analyse the current literature on the supply and demand for skills in the UK labour market to identify key trends and themes around skill mismatch, identify gaps and areas for future research.

Method: Selected articles were analysed to identify key themes and trends in the existing literature.

Findings: The overall finding is that the UK labour market suffers from various forms of widespread skill mismatch, but most particularly in the form of skill shortage. The areas with the most notable skill shortage highlighted in the literature include basic literacy, numeracy and digital; employability including leadership and management; STEM and health-related areas; teaching and training and a range of higher-level skills (including leadership and management, digital and creative, and industry-specific skills in STEM and health-related sectors, financial and business services, technology media and telecommunications, as well as teaching and training). Skill mismatch in the form of skill shortages in these areas is projected to worsen considerably by 2030, with some areas expected to suffer acute shortages by this time. Continued improvements to the education system will help to ensure the pipeline of future workers. However, changes to the education system are unlikely to impact on 80% of the future 2030 workforce who are already working and active in the UK labour market.

Originality/value of paper: The chapter provides a review of key literature in the field and aggregates key findings, so a wider picture of the extent and nature of the UK's skill mismatch challenge can be appreciated.

The main purpose of the chapter is to explain the impact of labour market security on migration-related decisions, especially in terms of push-pull factors theory. There are different ways to understand work-related security; the chapter discusses the importance of job security, employment security and income security from labour migration perspective. The article presents the existing body of literature on theoretical concepts as well as on some methodological facets of the measurements of the level of particular aspects of work-related security. Special attention is paid to labour migrants in terms of their working conditions in both sending and receiving countries. An overview of previous migration studies proves that the issue of migrants’ labour market security was not the subject of any in-depth analyses. There are, however, many examples of research showing that, under certain conditions, migration decisions are influenced by, among others, the generosity of a welfare state, stability of job and the desire to achieve the so-called normal life. In the case of migrants from third countries (e.g. from Ukraine), income security is of particular importance alongside remuneration.

Currently, a much-debated issue concerns the social and political significance of the emergence of the precariat, a social class consisting of people for whom uncertainty and unpredictability of life circumstances and employment relations make it impossible to plan for the future, forcing them to live on a day-to-day basis (Standing, 2011). However, it remains unclear how the precariat may be defined and operationalized. On the one hand, treating non-standard employment arrangements (fixed-term contracts, temporary agency work, etc.) as a basis for identifying precarious jobs is likely to be misleading, as research has shown non-standard employment to be heterogeneous with respect to working conditions and chances for achieving stabilization. On the other hand, subjective perceptions of security may also be misleading as indicators of precarity, as they are compounded by psychological coping mechanisms and perceptions of reference group status. This analysis attempts to disentangle the complex relationships between non-standard employment and perceived insecurity in order to provide grounds for a more adequate conceptualization and measurement of job precarity. Specifically, I assess the extent to which the relationship between worker contractual status and perceived job, labor market, and employment insecurity is conditional on various characteristics of workers, their jobs, and their households, taking into account the country-level economic and institutional context. The analysis is based on multi-level regression models using data from the 2010 European Working Conditions Survey.