Section One
Because the types of experiences that result in future
employability (e.g., valuable learning experiences and
progressively more challenging assignments) are typically not
the result of chance, and are instead the product of intentional
developmental programs, they involve resource allocations or
monetary outlays and will be considered as investments in this
discussion. Kanter’s description of the employability concept is
summarized in the following discussion:
If security no longer comes from being employed,
then it must come from being employable. In a
post-entrepreneurial era in which corporations
need the flexibility to change and restructuring is
a fact of life, the promise of very long-term
employment security would be the wrong one to
expect employers to make. But employability
security—the knowledge that today’s work will
enhance the person’s value in terms of future
opportunities—that is a promise that can be
made and kept. Employability security comes
from the chance to accumulate human capital—
skills and reputation—that can be invested in new
opportunities as they arise.^22