Facilitating the education-to-work transition: coaching for employability unravelled

After graduation, many higher education students will take their first steps into the world of work. Making this transition can be challenging as graduates leave behind the relatively stable and known context for a context that is more dynamic and sometimes even unknown. Consequently, many graduates leave their first job due to feelings of unpreparedness. Graduates leaving their first job has severe consequences for the individual (i.e., psychological distress and financial insecurity), the organization (i.e., costs), and society (i.e., (youth) unemployment). This thesis explores how higher education prepares students for their education-to-work transition and proposes coaching as a valuable and effective pedagogical intervention to facilitate students’ transition to the workplace. Results suggest that coaching in higher education increases students’ employability, necessary for a successful transition. In addition, coaching in higher education teaches students reflective skills, allowing them to continuously develop themselves at the workplace and engage in lifelong learning.