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Handbook of Innovative Career Counselling pp 425–444Cite as

Enhancing the Employability of Young Adults from Socio-economically Challenged Contexts: Theoretical Overview

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Abstract

The effect of unemployment is devastating to the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities, as well as to the economy of countries. To alleviate some of the effects of unemployment, it seems key to enhance the employability of people (those from socio-economically challenged backgrounds especially). We begin this chapter by discussing generally the occupational world and current trends that bring about global changes. This is followed by explication of the chapter structure and the goals of the study. Next, we shift our attention to an elaboration of the changing world of work and developing country contexts, focussing on the South African situation specifically. The importance and desirability of becoming employable is explicated, after which the theory of employability is deliberated from three perspectives to obtain a holistic view of the construct and to inform adaptability-related intervention. Since we regard acquiring career adaptability as a key aspect that promotes employability, literature on how to develop career adaptability is explored next. Given the idiosyncratic occupational dilemmas disadvantaged people in young adulthood in particular face, and the influence of poverty experienced in this developmental stage, the emphasis then shifts to a discussion of some keys for employability counselling intervention for this population in particular before the chapter is concluded.

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  1. Department of Educational Psychology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Erna W. Gerryts & Jacobus G. Maree

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  1. Erna W. Gerryts
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Correspondence to Erna W. Gerryts .

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  1. Department of Educational Psychology, University of Pretoria , Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

    Jacobus G. Maree

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Gerryts, E.W., Maree, J.G. (2019). Enhancing the Employability of Young Adults from Socio-economically Challenged Contexts: Theoretical Overview. In: Maree, J. (eds) Handbook of Innovative Career Counselling . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22799-9_24

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