Employability and AGRADES
There are numerous factors that contribute to a person's success in the job market, including the volume of employment opportunities in the market, employers' demand for certain expertise and qualifications offered by prospective employees, demographic factors, and a person's social and psychological qualities that enhance their preparedness and engagement in the job market.
A Psychological Perspective on Employability
AGRADES is based on psychological research into thoughts and behaviours that are described as "employability" (Fugate & Kinicki, etc). This understanding of employability is focused on thoughts and behaviours that are associated with individuals' exploring, engaging, and sustaining a career.
AGRADES is a specific set of questionnaires that measure a person's self-reports of their thoughts and behaviours associated with exploring the job market for work opportunities and actively engaging in those work opportunities. These questionnaires are known as the "core measures" of employability.
Limits of Employability
It is important to understand key assumptions about a psychological perspective on employability and AGRADES.
- Employability is not the
same as employment. It is easy to confuse employability and
employment because these terms are commonplace in the public domain, in
media reports, and the promotional and educational discourse of
universities.
- Scores on AGRADES' are not the chance of employment.
AGRADES provides a personalized set of measures of thoughts and
behaviours that positively contribute to a person's success in the job
market. A person's core measures must be interpreted in context of the
labour market, qualifications in demand, and other factors at any given
point in time.
- Scores on AGRADES' are not an indicator that one person is more likely to secure a job than another. AGRADES allows a person to learn about their thoughts and behaviours, and to use this self-reflective learning as a way to enhance career exploration and growth. AGRADES is not designed to compare one person against another.