Marketing Graduate Employability

Employability competencies of South African Human Resource Development graduates

“…Considering the circumstances surrounding the expected graduate employability competencies, it is appropriate to conclude that the labour market needs competencies that are suitable for the workplace. The dialogue on graduate employability has been around for some time and is not a new trend (Bennett et al 2019). Tripathi and Agrawal (2014) postulate that the goals of the organisation target human resource strategies, plans and programmes to address gaps such as hiring and staffing; learning; career development; and succession management, which are then designed, developed and implemented to close the gaps.…”

“…Once the graduates arrive at the workplace it becomes the employer's responsibility to develop the graduates to succeed in the world of work. Bennett et al (2019) state that graduate employability has been subject to debate for some time and therefore it is not a new trend. Research shows that it is important to explore graduate employability competencies to ensure that crucial knowledge, skills and positive attitudes are gained by HRD graduates.…”

Constructing the Higher Education Student

“…The discourse of human capital, which positions HE students as future workers and as a key economic resource, has been evident in various national and European policies introduced over the past two decades (Brooks, 2021;Keeling, 2006). At the institutional level, there has been a clear emphasis on adjusting study programmes to labour market needs, evident both on HEI websites (Bennett et al, 2019;Lažetić, 2019;Fotiadou, 2020) and in the ideas that circulate within university management (Boden and Nedeva, 2010). Students' perceptions of and identification with this discourse (especially in relation to notions of employability) have been studied previously (Tomlinson, 2007(Tomlinson, , 2010Bonnard, 2020); nevertheless, broader cross-country comparative insights are yet to be made.…”