Employability - another buzzword?

Christine Davies, head of human resources and training at HSBC Malta, gave the keynote speech at the recent Foundation for Human Resources Development annual conference on "Employability"

Is 'employability' another buzzword? Possibly. However, I believe that if we consider what 'employability' actually means, its importance and relevance in not only the world of work, but also in a wider context quickly become apparent.

I would like to consider what 'employability' means and then look at it from different angles.

There are many definitions.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) describes employability as the possession by an individual of the qualities and competences required to meet the changing needs of employers and customers and thereby help to realise his or her aspirations and potential in work.

Nowadays, there is no such thing as a 'job for life'. Young people join an organisation to gain experience and they expect to keep changing that organisation to keep on varying the experience.

Generation X, now in their 20s and early 30s, are not likely to respect the command and control approach. They feel no allegiances and have a utilitarian, even cynical view of organisations.

Portfolio working

Some people make their work the whole of their life, leaving little or no space for anything else. Are they right or wrong? Organisations will look to the development of their people only to enhance the business's ability to make profits. Those who seek their fulfilment in demanding business jobs are likely to be disappointed.

I would like to consider a "lucky four-leaf clover". Individuals have four basic needs:

¤ Finances - pay to provide financial security

¤ Family - time to spend with them

¤ Fulfilment - spiritual and mental

¤ Fun - and excitement.

It is unlikely that one job will fill all of these needs. Some people used to think that it should. Needless to say, they never found the perfect job!

Life is different for many people today.

An individual's work portfolio will be made up of different types of work: some will be there because they bring in money, some will be there because of a need for fulfilment, e.g. voluntary work; some will be there because they are genuine enthusiasms, e.g. cooking; some will be there because they are chores or obligations like housework.

An individual's work portfolio will be balanced when there is enough money coming in and the work they enjoy doing is a much bigger part of the portfolio than the chores.

Work looked at in this way is not simply work done for money. Work is effort and energy that is deliberately applied. Work used to mean things that we had to do, or were paid to do by other people. Now it increasingly means things that we choose to do. This little shift makes all the difference.

Wise organisations recognise the advantages of these individual portfolios. Different tasks and different groups bring out different talents in the individual. Some businesses now actively encourage their staff to take on voluntary activities in the community, allowing them time away from work if necessary, e.g. HSBC Cares for Children Fund.

Taking charge of your own career - building Me plc - is a real-life lesson that many people have learnt the hard way. Asked about the most important aspects of career development, these people answered "employability and the development of skills for the future".

The key for individuals in adapting to the world of employability and building their preferred portfolio is changing attitudes.

Individuals should regard employability as an ongoing priority, even when in secure employment. They should take a positive attitude to opportunities, put in time and effort to careers and think widely about career opportunities, and possibly be willing to relocate.

Employees should recognise learning as a route to more security, be prepared to develop new skills or re-apply existing skills in new contexts, they should consider new careers. Employees should balance family and learning time and plan for wider employability and financial flexibility.

A key element of employability is the market value of, and demand for, an individual's skills.

Many people are aware of their potential value to other organisations - even though their technical expertise makes them employable only when it is accompanied by commercial acumen, effective interpersonal skills and pragmatism.

Research has shown the five key types of skill, knowledge or attitude are likely to be critical to someone's future career success. They are:

¤ Technical skills, including computer literacy. The ability to make practical use of information will create competitive advantage;

¤ Cross-functional and international experience. Managers will need to be sufficiently aware of how other functions work to create and manage multidisciplinary teams and projects;

¤ Collaborative leadership. Projects will be both temporary and ongoing, the ability to integrate quickly into new or existing teams will be crucial;

¤ Self-managing skills. Since there is likely to be less hierarchical management of workers, people will need to exercise self-governance. Continuous learning will be essential, as will the ability to manage the work-life balance;

¤ Flexibility, including the ability to take the lead on one project and be a team member on another.

People seem to be adjusting to the idea that career development means moving sideways as well as upwards. Individuals in specialist roles appear to be most at risk. This is surprising because they are likely to be the knowledge workers whom organisations are keen to retain. On the whole, scope for conventional career development through technical or professional roles appears limited because the only available route upwards is through management.

Employability skills

A body called Employability Skills 2000+, based in Canada, have produced a fairly simple summary of employability skills.

¤ Fundamental skills - communication, manage information, use numbers, think and solve problems;

¤ Personal management skills - demonstrate positive attitudes and behaviours, be responsible, be adaptable, learn continuously, work safely;

¤ Teamwork skills - work with others, participate in projects and tasks.

The CBI in the UK in their brief on "Making Employability Work" suggest that these qualities and competencies make up employability:

¤ Values and attitudes compatible with the work, including a desire to learn, to apply that learning, to improve and to take advantage of change;

¤ Basic skills (literacy and numeracy);

¤ Key skills (communication, application of numbers, IT, improving one's own learning and performance, working with others, problem-solving) sufficient for the needs of the work;

¤ Other generic skills that are becoming increasingly key - modern languages, customer service skills;

¤ Up to date relevant knowledge and understanding;

¤ Up to date specific job skills;

¤ The ability to manage one's own career.

A further paper for the NW Regional Laboratory in the US by Kathleen Cotton on "Developing Employability Skills", summarises the research on the subject. She suggests that employability skills are not job-specific, but are skills that cut horizontally across all industries and vertically across all jobs from entry level to chief executive. (Sherer and Eadie, 1987).

She finds that the critical employability skills identified by different researchers vary considerably in the way they are organised. One researcher/developer identified 76 different skills in nine categories (Poole, 1985), another research group named 36 skills and traits in eight categories (SCANS 1991).

There is also, however, a great deal of agreement among the skills and traits identified.

Comparisons of the employability attributes listed by the different researchers revealed those that were cited most frequently. These were organised into three categories: basic skills, higher order thinking skills, and affective skills and traits:

¤ Basic skills - oral communications, reading, especially understanding and following instructions, basic arithmetic, writing;

¤ Higher order thinking skills - problem-solving, learning skills/strategies, creative/innovative thinking, decision-making;

¤ Affective skills and traits - dependability, responsibility, positive attitude towards work, conscientiousness, punctuality, efficiency, interpersonal skills, co-operation, working as a team ember, self-confidence, positive self-image, adaptability, flexibility, motivation, enthusiasm, self-discipline, self management, appropriate dress/grooming, honesty, integrity, ability to work without supervision.

While a number of employers identified the 3R's and various higher cognitive abilities as critical, all of them named affective characteristics - particularly dependability and responsibility and positive attitude towards work - as vital.

We can see, by just looking at these selections from the wealth of information on employability, that there is a theme that runs through the definitions, a theme which has more to do with behaviours and attitudes than technical knowledge.

Summary

So buzzword or not, the issue of employability has taken a hold in the working world and wider environments.

Employers must provide the skills and support that employees need in the new environment, and to enable them to maintain their employability over their working life. Employees have to accept the responsibility to maintain their employability throughout their career, undertaking learning with motivation and developing their own programme of assessing and upgrading their skills.

The result will be a career management partnership that enables employers to maximise the working relationship with valuable employees as well as giving individuals the tools to utilise for long-term career success.

Individuals are also reached by many other supporting bodies, trade unions, professional institutions/associations, national training organisations, trade associations, voluntary groups and voluntary sector organisations.

These bodies also have a key role to play in getting the message across and employers and Government must continue to engage them in the debate.

I see employability as a fall out from globalisation and the requirements for flexibility and change to stay in business. Like it or not, we are in a global market economy in which we need to compete. Employees represent real value in organisations and individuals need organisations to meet their basic and higher level needs.

Unions and employer organisations exist because organisations and individuals exit and all need to work in partnership to stay in business in this ever-changing world.

Those in education have a responsibility to recognise the changing influences in the world and to support young people in starting the development of employability skills throughout their education and government should have the overview that encourages us all to recognise employability as a positive for us all.

Let us see globalisation as an opportunity rather than a threat and work to ensure that as many people as possible have life-long employability. It is surely in all of our interests to do so.