Reconceptualising employability of returnees : what really matters and strategic navigating approaches

• Published in: Higher education Vol. 81; no. 6; pp. 1329 - 1345
• Main Author: Pham, Thanh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-06-2021; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analysis; Bourdieu (P); Bourdieu, Pierre (1930-2002); Career advancement; Career Development; College Graduates; College students; Cultural capital; Cultural identity; Developing countries; Education; Emerging markets; Emigration and immigration; Employability; Employment; Employment Potential; Foreign Students; Higher Education; Housing market; Human capital; Industrialized nations; Job Skills; Knowledge Level; Labor Market; Labour market; LDCs; Learning; Market entry; Mixed methods research; Multimethod techniques; Negotiation; Objectives; Occupations; Organizational culture; Overseas qualifications; Returned students; Self concept; Social Capital; Social development; Social identity; Students; Support services; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Work skills; Workplaces; Australia; Canada; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; China; England; India; Bourdieu; Agency; Higher education; Returnees; Employability; Capital; Australia
• ISSN: 0018-1560; 1573-174X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10734-020-00614-2

Although increasing attention has been paid to post-study career trajectories of returnees in emerging economies, there are very few studies on how returnees navigate the home labour market. To fill this gap, the present study aimed to explore how returnees negotiated their employability trajectories in home labour markets. It employed a mixed-method approach, conducting a survey and individual interviews with 80 and 15 returnees, respectively. The findings revealed that to sustain employability, returnees had to develop and utilise various forms of capital including human, social, identity, cultural, psychological, and agentic capital. In particular, technical knowledge emerged as a neutral factor at all stages of their career development; social capital was crucially important during market entry and for promotion; and an understanding of local work culture and professional skills were significant at the workplace. Most importantly, to achieve successful employment outcomes, career progression, and personal goals, returnees had to exercise 'agentic capital' to combine and utilise various forms of capital strategically. The findings implied that various stakeholders should share responsibilities to enable students to build a package of resources for their employability negotiation. Graduate employability should also be assessed a few years after students' graduation so that useful resources can be revealed and then applied in teaching and learning programmes and support services. [Author abstract]