TY - BOOK

T1 - A narrative inquiry into the formation and deployment of graduate capitals by first-generation graduates over time

AU - Maccabe, Rebecca

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - There has been a clear shift in the literature from employability as theacquisition of skills to employability as an active and socially constructedprocess that unfolds over time and across contexts. Yet there has been limitedresearch on graduates’ career journeys and the development of employabilitycapitals over time using Tomlinson’s (2017) graduate capital model. This studyaims to add to this small body of literature by examining the development andusage of employability capitals over time among first-generation graduates,who have received little attention in the literature. Tomlinson’s graduate capitalmodel, which is positioned as a more nuanced conceptualisation ofemployability, was chosen as the study’s main theoretical framework and themodel’s usefulness in the study of employability was examined. A narrativeinquiry research design was employed to elicit the career stories of five firstgeneration graduates who graduated from UK universities approximately tenyears ago. Schlossberg’s transition theory was used to organise the centralthemes because career transitions were a significant feature in the participants’narratives. A main finding of the study was that, while capital accumulation anddeployment can assist career transitions, it was unclear from the career storieshow developing capitals can support successful and sustainable employmentwhen professional development is not always supported in the workplace. Thisstudy offers a critique of the graduate capital model by highlighting its shortterm, static nature, which prioritises the exchange value of graduate labour over long-term employment fulfilment. The career stories indicated that employability is a fluid and organic process, in contrast to the graduate capital model's strategic approach to capital formation and utilisation. This study demonstrates the need to move away from a static, individual-centred view of employability and towards one that considers long-term working conditions and practices, rather than just a graduate's immediate entry into the workforce.

AB - There has been a clear shift in the literature from employability as theacquisition of skills to employability as an active and socially constructedprocess that unfolds over time and across contexts. Yet there has been limitedresearch on graduates’ career journeys and the development of employabilitycapitals over time using Tomlinson’s (2017) graduate capital model. This studyaims to add to this small body of literature by examining the development andusage of employability capitals over time among first-generation graduates,who have received little attention in the literature. Tomlinson’s graduate capitalmodel, which is positioned as a more nuanced conceptualisation ofemployability, was chosen as the study’s main theoretical framework and themodel’s usefulness in the study of employability was examined. A narrativeinquiry research design was employed to elicit the career stories of five firstgeneration graduates who graduated from UK universities approximately tenyears ago. Schlossberg’s transition theory was used to organise the centralthemes because career transitions were a significant feature in the participants’narratives. A main finding of the study was that, while capital accumulation anddeployment can assist career transitions, it was unclear from the career storieshow developing capitals can support successful and sustainable employmentwhen professional development is not always supported in the workplace. Thisstudy offers a critique of the graduate capital model by highlighting its shortterm, static nature, which prioritises the exchange value of graduate labour over long-term employment fulfilment. The career stories indicated that employability is a fluid and organic process, in contrast to the graduate capital model's strategic approach to capital formation and utilisation. This study demonstrates the need to move away from a static, individual-centred view of employability and towards one that considers long-term working conditions and practices, rather than just a graduate's immediate entry into the workforce.

U2 - 10.17635/lancaster/thesis/2012

DO - 10.17635/lancaster/thesis/2012

M3 - Doctoral Thesis

PB - Lancaster University

ER -