Employability competences of workers in health care and finance. The role of self-directed learning orientation and job characteristics

Employability, defined as a set of competences that allow an individual to create and maintain a job, is pivotal for both organizations and employees. Organizations with an employable workforce remain competitive and individuals who are employable experience better career development. The present study investigates self-directed learning orientation (SDLO), job control, and job demand as predictors for three employability competences: occupational expertise, personal flexibility, and anticipation and optimization. Data were collected from a sample from two different sectors (health care and finance) in the Netherlands. A path model was built to investigate the relationships between the dependent and independent variables. Results indicate that SDLO and job demands relate positively to all three employability competences. These results suggest that employees with a self-directed learning orientation and employees working in a demanding job are more employable. In addition, we found that the positive relationship between SDLO and employability competences was moderated by job control. To create an employable workforce, supervisors and managers can promote employees' orientation toward self-directed learning and pay considerable attention to job design in terms of job demands and job control.