A capability approach to career development: An introduction and implications for practice

Robertson, Peter J; Egdell, Valerie

Abstract

In the UK, the concept of employability is influential in current conceptualizations of career development. It is an example of a discourse underpinned by faith in individual transformation as a response to unstable labour markets, a position that is not unproblematic when structural factors are taken into account. This article introduces an alternative perspective, the Capability Approach (CA), to encourage debate about its value, and to begin to outline what it means for career counselling and development practice. An overview of the CA is provided, and the resonance between the concerns of the CA and those of career development practitioners will be highlighted. Key difficulties in applying the approach are identified before implications of the CA for practice are considered.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 28, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Sep 24, 2018
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Mar 28, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 28, 2017
• Journal: Australian Journal of Career Development
• Print ISSN: 1038-4162
• Electronic ISSN: 2200-6974
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 119-126
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1038416217704449
• Keywords: Capability approach, career counselling, career development, employability, social justice,
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/821138
• Contract Date: Mar 28, 2017