Increasing Refugees’ Work and Job Search Self-Efficacy Perceptions by Developing Career Adaptability

Abstract

Today’s unstable labor market increasingly requires flexibility and adaptability to cope with the threat of unemployment. Though this threat can cause distress in many people, its negative impact is even more significant on vulnerable workers such as refugees. This study aimed to explore if a career counseling intervention designed for refugees (CCfR) preceded increases in career adaptability and, therefore, perceptions of both work self-efficacy (WSe) and job search self-efficacy (JSSe). The study was conducted in Italy and involved a sample of 233 refugees, who were asked to respond to a questionnaire available in three languages (Italian, French, and English). Data analysis showed that improvement was demonstrated in all the variables considered, namely, career adaptability (composed by concern, control, confidence, and curiosity), WSe, and JSSe. In addition, the increase in career adaptability explained the increase in refugees’ WSe and JSSe; at the opposite, only the initial level of curiosity was found to explain the increase in WSe, while JSSe was completely independent from the initial level of the career adaptability.

Taking Action towards an Inclusive Career Counselling for Asylum Seekers and Refugees—A Literature Review Based on the PRISMA Model

“…A table for each group summarises the main data of the publications, i.e., the study references and participants, the objective of the research or career intervention, its design and methodological features, and the main results. Many of the analysed publications [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] describe the results of quantitative or qualitative research studies on both contextual and individual factors and resources, which are considered to be helpful in fostering the professional development of As&R. Other publications [26][27][28][29] explore professional identity processes. The remaining studies [30][31][32][33][34][35][36] present, implement, or evaluate the effectiveness of career interventions or the specific aspects addressed by them.…”

“…Nine ( 9) studies [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] were included in the first group: five (5) adopted a quantitative design, three (3) a qualitative design, and one (1) a mixed-method design (Table 1). Research involved As&R who resided in Italy [17,20,22], Germany [18,23], Canada [24], Australia [25], Switzerland [21], Greece, and the Netherlands [19].…”

“…Nine ( 9) studies [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] were included in the first group: five (5) adopted a quantitative design, three (3) a qualitative design, and one (1) a mixed-method design (Table 1). Research involved As&R who resided in Italy [17,20,22], Germany [18,23], Canada [24], Australia [25], Switzerland [21], Greece, and the Netherlands [19]. This group of studies examines career transitions, focusing on psychosocial resources, personal characteristics, and adaptive skills among As&R. This body of research supports the relevance of developing these skills and resources in career interventions as a means of addressing contextual constraints and supporting professional integration processes for As&R. Two studies assess the effectiveness of career interventions for As&R [17,24], while others investigate the role of attitudes and psychological characteristics enabling an agentic perspective.…”

Career Interventions for Promoting Gender Equality: Methodological Aspects

“…Evidence suggests that career guidance and planning interventions can raise professional maturity and self-concepts (Lau et al, 2021), besides demonstrating a positive impact on occupational self-efficacy and self-efficacy for job seeking among refugees (Morici et al, 2022). For women, career guidance and planning can enhance their skills, knowledge and expansion of interests, especially for those working on predominantly male workplaces (Falco & Summers, 2019).…”

Beyond job placement: careers for refugees

“…Yoon et al (2019) offered an example of designing and evaluating a career development program for refugees, based on Hope-Action Theory (Amundson et al, 2020). Another study (Morici et al, 2022) conducted in a European context demonstrates the value of tailored theory-based career counselling for refugees and how these interventions can contribute to improvements in important career management skill such as career adaptability and work search self-efficacy. These examples advance the understanding of how targeted and tailored career development intervention programs benefit refugees through helping them to gain and improve career-related competencies, which contribute to their long-term career development.…”