A Conceptual Framework for the Study of Employers Perceptions towards Employability

Abstract

Graduates’ employability is an important aspect concerning educational output. Employers’ perceptions have been given less concentration in studies that apply the signaling theory and human capital theory. When we come across the transition from college education to employment, the employers’ perceptions are crucial. This study tries to understand how the employers perceive about the graduates’ value whose educational qualifications are similar. The framework is explained in three stages namely, employers’ belief systems, decisions in recruitment and performance outcomes. In this framework, the employers’ beliefs are influenced by various factors and mechanisms, which include initial signaling, private learning, public learning and exogenous factors. Initial signaling includes the initial triggers such as the educational credentials of the candidates. Private learning is done by the current employers where they evaluate the candidate’s performance outcomes after recruitment. Public learning is the process of observation of the employee’s performance outcomes by all market participants. The various exogenous factors could be the cultural environment, certain critical market conditions and companies’ own policies. The conceptual framework shows how an employer, through the consecutive learning processes, would accumulate enough experience to discover the candidates’ true worth.

Keywords: Employability, Perceptions, Initial Signaling, Private Learning, Public Learning, Exogenous Factors

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