Rethinking Graduate Employability in Undergraduate Vocational Education: A Quantitative Validation of the Graduate Capital Model

• In Event: Special Topics in Career and Technical Education & Workplace Learning

Abstract

The transformation of labor markets through technological, economic, and structural shifts has led to a resurgence of interest in vocational education across the globe. This study validates the Graduate Capital Scale within China’s undergraduate vocational education context. Drawing on Tomlinson’s Graduate Capital Model, it examines employability through five interrelated forms of capital. A two-stage factor analysis (EFA and CFA) was conducted by using data from 703 final-year students and graduates. The results confirm structural validity and strong psychometric robustness. The adapted scale offers a practical, context-sensitive tool to assess graduate employability and guide individualized career readiness, curriculum development, and institutional planning. It also contributes to career and technical education research by bridging Western employability theory and non-Western vocational realities.

Author

• Jia Li, The Education University of Hong Kong