Possessing 21st-Century Skills and Building Sustainable Careers: Early-Career Social Sciences Graduates’ Perspectives

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Key Issues in Career and Technical Education (Table 10)

Abstract

In today’s complex labor market, twenty-first-century skills are considered important in career sustainability. Utilizing both a variable-centered and a person-centered approach, this cross-sectional survey study investigated the link between self-assessments of possessing 21st-century skills and sustainable careers in a sample of 129 early-career social sciences graduates. Path analysis results showed that collaboration, creativity and problem-solving, but not communication and critical thinking related to career sustainability. Results also revealed a suppressor effect of problem-solving on positive relationships between creativity and health-related problems, suggesting that problem-solving plays a preventive role for creative individuals in avoiding health-related issues. Furthermore, Latent Profile Analysis demonstrated two profiles: sustainable and non-sustainable careers. While both profiles exhibited similar productivity levels, individuals from the non-sustainable profile reported lower happiness and higher health problems. Partly corroborating the path analysis results, graduates with sustainable careers differed in communication and collaboration skills. This study enhances the understanding of 21st-century skills’ role in career sustainability and validates the model of sustainable careers.

Authors

• Ayşegül Karaca Atik, Erasmus University Rotterdam

• Marjan Gorgievski, Erasmus University Rotterdam

• Marieke Meeuwisse, Erasmus University Rotterdam

• Guus Smeets, Erasmus University Rotterdam