English Language Skills and Employability: A Theoretical Framework

This chapter aims to identify a suitable theoretical framework underpinning the development of this book. It first describes the current situations of skills need in different labour markets. It points out that English skills are in high demands and raises the concern about how we can better approach English language teaching/learning so that graduates can become more competitive when entering the labour market. Following that, it reviews different perspectives and models of employability to identify a theoretical framework appropriate for the development of this book. (Tomlinson, Forms of Graduate Capital and Their Relationship to Graduate Employability 59:338–352, 2017) Employability capital model is chosen as it provides a broad perspective about employability, moving beyond the notion of skills and introduces new dimensions of graduate employability. Accordingly, to enhance their employability, students/graduates need to possess a sufficient level of human capital (knowledge and skills), social capital (social networks with others), cultural capital (understanding of the work culture and practices of a particular industry), psychological capital (personal attributes that enhance their ability to move forward in building their careers such as resilience, flexibility, adaptability, etc.), and career identity (sense of attachment to a particular work role or industry; the feeling and ambition of who they want to become or what they want to do). Overall, (Tomlinson, Forms of Graduate Capital and Their Relationship to Graduate Employability 59:338–352, 2017) employability capital model acts as a spine that connects all chapters presented in this book to make the whole book complete, logical, and consistent.