We must reinvent employability programs

Most of us want to have a job, get it quickly and without pain and prosper it. Many educational organizations, and in particular non -profit organizations, offer “employability programs” – programs designed to educate job seekers on how to structure and format their curriculum vitae, find and apply for appropriate jobs, prepare for a job interview, etc. These programs, which tend to target populations such as young people, risky groups and, again immigrants, tend to take into account participants to reach an indication of success. Obtaining a job, however, is only the start.

What is employability?

Employability can have a variety of definitions (Williams et al., 2015). Does employability mean being able to find a job? Be able to hold a job? Determine a “dream work”? Be a candidate selected through jobs? The conceptualization of employability is questionable and, therefore, the employability programs differ in their content.

In general, employability programs aim to facilitate the results of the labor market. In other words, their objective is to increase employment, reduce unemployment and encourage the candidate to seek the most paid jobs for their level of competence. They exhibit participants in the workplace, educate them on specific skills necessary to obtain a job and highlight the importance of a professional network (Étoirera et al., 2025).

They are important springboards to the success of work. But what is the next step?

Achieve in relation to maintaining a job

Many organizations are now prey to low commitment and turnover. They do not need another candidate who has mastered the art of the job interview, but offers little value once they got the position. Companies do not want to invest their resources in someone who has been trained on how to make a big first impressionBut not on how to do in a consistent manner, meet expectations and communicate effectively.

Consequently, the employability programs which are intended exclusively towards the placement of employment do not serve their participants and employing organizations. Instead, completing the job achievement skills with educational components for long -term success is the way to follow.

Reinvent employability programs

The workplaces change at the heads of spinning the head. Only five years ago, Home work (WFH) was a rare luxury, while today is the norm for many organizations. With the advent of IAMany jobs and tasks have been automated and rationalized, and this seems to be the first snowball in an IA avalanche.

So, how can we effectively prepare our young people for employment, beyond the interview? You will find below four subjects which have been empirically demonstrated as crucial for professional success in industries and should be included as educational elements in employability programs.

Self-motivation

The days of the boss who breathes the neck of their employees are (hopefully) behind us. Today, leaders are aware of the harmful implications of microgestion, and with WFH being a regular part of the schedules of many workers, the ability to be self-motivated is more important than ever. This is particularly true for people whose work is poorly structured and poorly defined, such as creative work or work -based work (Faisal et al., 2021; Sharberi et al., 2019).

Self-motivation refers to the ability to initiate an action or achieve an objective without external encouragement, reward or fear of punishment. Self-motivation can be the result of intrinsic motivationThat is to say the joy of engaging in an activity or pursuing a goal. This can also come from knowledge that activity or objective, although perhaps not pleasant, are important to accomplish.

Regardless of the underlying mechanisms, self-motivation is an important competence for today's workplace. Employability programs should educate their participants on what self-motivation is, why it is an important competence for professional growth and what are the development and self-motivation strategies.

Education

The ability to quickly learn new skills, accept comments in a non -competing way and drop old beliefs and habits in favor of news and more effective, is one of the most sought -after qualities that employers are looking for. Often called to be teachable Or coachableThis type of preparation to learn requires humility, a state of growth (Dweck, 2016), the ability to accept new challenges with opening And curiosity, and the ability to take responsibility for your own performance – good or bad.

Although this quality naturally arrives at certain people and painfully enough for others, everyone can learn the principles of teaching. In addition, being a teaching is often a springboard for professional growth and success, and should therefore be a staple in employability programs.

Delayed gratuity

People wish to teach their children that “good things come to those waiting”. The virtues of patience, perseverance and immediate rewards to achieve long -term objectives seem even more important in the workplace. Research has revealed that employees who are able to delay gratuity are more likely to advance in their careers (Hu et al., 2022), are more creative (Liang et al., 2025), and more committed to their work (Ren et al., 2022).

In other words, when employees are ready to persist through the difficulties of the present to achieve their long -term professional objectives, this has advantages for employees and organizations. Educate job seekers on how to differentiate situations that justify an outing of a workplace (for example, harassment, discriminationetc.) and difficult professional experiences that may require persistence (for example, professional stress, organizational changes, etc.) can be extremely beneficial for their careers.

Emotional regulation

Emotional regulation is defined as the competence to influence when and how we live and express our emotions (Gross, 1998). An individual with a strong capacity for emotional regulation will remain calm and collected, or what many describe as “professional”, through a variety of stressfulAngry or even joyful work contexts.

The training in emotional regulation for the workplace is not intended to completely discourage the expression of emotions; Instead, he focuses on a controlled expression of emotions in a way that allows a certain release of emotion While at the same time does not interfere with communication and working (Lawrence et al., 2011). In addition, an intentional and controlled expression of emotions can improve interpersonal functioning and improve motivation, while excessive emotional expression can lead to shameregret and professional and social repercussions.

Employability programs have proven that they can be incredibly useful to help young people and other populations get a job. However, it is not only the realization of the job that can be problematic. Employability programs should extend their scope and help their participants acquire skills and state of mind for long -term professional and personal growth by educating participants on how to work in the workplace, motivating, cognitive and emotional.