1 - Employability and transitions into employment:
a conceptual framework
People go through a transition into employment several times during their lives: after
initial schooling, after an extended period out of the labour force because of layoff or
leaving employment, or as a new immigrant. In this report, we develop a framework for a
successful model for transition into employment in Canada.
Transition into employment is a process. Its success depends upon a complex set of
factors, including characteristics of the labour market as well as those of individuals. The
concept of employability captures what is at stake in the transition process. It
encompasses both personal and labour market characteristics and their interactions. We
define employability as:
The relative capacity of an individual to achieve meaningful employment,
given the interaction between personal characteristics and the labour
market.
Each word in the definition is significant:
- An individual is a person who may have characteristics that give him or her a social
identity as well as an individual personality. The transition process involves an
individual matching process.
- Capacity is the unique combination of attitudes, aptitudes, competencies, interests,
choices, and potential of an individual.
- Relative refers to strengths and weaknesses when comparing the characteristics of
individuals.
- Achieve is used to emphasize the idea that finding meaningful employment is an
engaging process; it is successful when the employment corresponds to the job
searcher's objectives.
- Meaningful means that the employment must have a personal value, that is, it must
provide a combination of reasonable monetary reward, self-esteem, and social
recognition.
- Employment refers to a broad spectrum of possible activities, from self-employment
to private or public sector employment, and from part-time to full-time work.