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All Outputs (68)

Building capabilities in disabled job seekers: A qualitative study of the Remploy Work Choices programme in Scotland (2018)
Journal Article
Robertson, P. J. (2018). Building capabilities in disabled job seekers: A qualitative study of the Remploy Work Choices programme in Scotland. Social Work and Society: International Online Journal, 16(1), 1-15

This article reports on a qualitative study of the UK’s labour activation pathway for jobseekers with disabilities and health conditions. The aim was to explore the experiences of Work Choices programme participants, specifically to identify barrier... Read More about Building capabilities in disabled job seekers: A qualitative study of the Remploy Work Choices programme in Scotland.

Positive psychology and career counselling (2018)
Presentation / Conference
Robertson, P. J. (2018, October). Positive psychology and career counselling. Paper presented at International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance (IAEVG) Annual Conference 2018, Gothenburg, Sweden

Positive psychology has been an influential movement within psychology in the early years of the twenty-first century. This paper seeks to provide a critical and balanced assessment of the contribution to career counselling of this perspective, based... Read More about Positive psychology and career counselling.

The Capability Approach - from concept to practice (2018)
Presentation / Conference
Robertson, P. (2018, October). The Capability Approach - from concept to practice. Paper presented at Symposium at the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance (IAEVG) Annual Conference 2018, Gotenburg, Sweden

The Capability Approach offers a fresh starting point for thinking about career guidance interventions. In contrast to most conceptual approaches in the field, it does not derive from psychology or sociology. Rather, it originates in the work of econ... Read More about The Capability Approach - from concept to practice.

A capability approach to career development: An introduction and implications for practice (2018)
Journal Article
Robertson, P. J., & Egdell, V. (2018). A capability approach to career development: An introduction and implications for practice. Australian Journal of Career Development, 27(3), 119-126. https://doi.org/10.1177/1038416217704449

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... Read More about A capability approach to career development: An introduction and implications for practice.

Job search information behaviours: An ego-net study of networking amongst young job-seekers (2018)
Journal Article
Mowbray, J., Hall, H., Raeside, R., & Robertson, P. J. (2018). Job search information behaviours: An ego-net study of networking amongst young job-seekers. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 50(3), 239-253. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000618769965

Networking is considered an integral feature of job search, yet its behavioural manifestation has received little attention in the extant literature. Here this is addressed in a study of young job-seekers that adopted an egocentric network approach u... Read More about Job search information behaviours: An ego-net study of networking amongst young job-seekers.

The casualties of transition: the health impact of NEET status and some approaches to managing it (2018)
Journal Article
Robertson, P. J. (2018). The casualties of transition: the health impact of NEET status and some approaches to managing it. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 47(3), 390-402. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2018.1455168

Youth unemployment can be understood as a major public health risk. This paper explores the multidisciplinary literature in this field, and its relevance to support for NEET (not in education, employment or training) young people. There is reason to... Read More about The casualties of transition: the health impact of NEET status and some approaches to managing it.

Developing career capabilities in “NEET” young people: experiences of participants in the Prince’s Trust team programme (2018)
Journal Article
Robertson, P. J. (2018). Developing career capabilities in “NEET” young people: experiences of participants in the Prince’s Trust team programme. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 46(6), 752-764. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2018.1434130

This qualitative study focuses on the impact of a supportive 12-week programme intended to empower young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) to pursue life-career goals of their own choosing. The programme is viewed through... Read More about Developing career capabilities in “NEET” young people: experiences of participants in the Prince’s Trust team programme.

Developing Career Capabilities For Young People In Transition To Adulthood (2017)
Book Chapter
Robertson, P. (2017). Developing Career Capabilities For Young People In Transition To Adulthood. In K. Niven, S. Lewis, & C. Kagan (Eds.), Making a difference with psychology (234-240). London: Richard Benjamin Trust

This chapter provides a brief accessible outline of a research project funded by the Richard Benjamin Trust. It describes use of the 'capability approach' to understand a programme run by the Princes Trust to support young people who are not in empl... Read More about Developing Career Capabilities For Young People In Transition To Adulthood.

Bhaskar and Sen: Two foundations on which to build a new approach to career guidance and life planning (2017)
Journal Article
Robertson, P. J. (2018). Bhaskar and Sen: Two foundations on which to build a new approach to career guidance and life planning. Indian Journal of Career and Livelihood Planning, 6(1), 22-28

This paper argues for a new perspective on guidance and life planning that is informed, but not dominated, by pre-existing Western conceptions of career. Two scholars are highlighted as providing potential foundations for a new approach. Firstly, the... Read More about Bhaskar and Sen: Two foundations on which to build a new approach to career guidance and life planning.

Promoting student well-being: Are you better than you think? (2017)
Journal Article
Robertson, P. (2017). Promoting student well-being: Are you better than you think?. Phoenix (AGCAS journal), 20-21

Dr Pete Robertson, Associate Professor & Programme Leader for Career Guidance in the School of Applied Sciences at Edinburgh Napier University, outlines proactive approaches that careers services can adopt to respond to the challenges of supporting s... Read More about Promoting student well-being: Are you better than you think?.

Positive psychology and career development (2017)
Journal Article
Robertson, P. J. (2018). Positive psychology and career development. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 46(2), 241-254. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2017.1318433

Positive psychology has been an influential movement within psychology in the early years of the 21st century. It is now timely to assess the value of its contribution to career education and guidance. This paper provides a critique of this perspecti... Read More about Positive psychology and career development.

The role of networking and social media tools during job search: an information behaviour perspective (2017)
Journal Article
Mowbray, J., Hall, H., Raeside, R., & Robertson, P. (2017). The role of networking and social media tools during job search: an information behaviour perspective. Information Research, 22(1),

Introduction. The paper presents a critical analysis of the extant literature pertaining to the networking behaviour of young jobseekers in both offline and online environments. A framework derived from information behaviour theory is proposed as a b... Read More about The role of networking and social media tools during job search: an information behaviour perspective.

Identifying and measuring capabilities for career development in NEET young people (2017)
Journal Article
Robertson, P. J. (2017). Identifying and measuring capabilities for career development in NEET young people. Recherches sociologique et anthropologique/ Sociological and anthropological research, 47(2), 83-99

Amartya Sen's Capability Approach offers great potential as a conceptual framework for promoting social justice and well-being through economic and educational engagement. Yet the capability approach presents researchers with formidable difficulties,... Read More about Identifying and measuring capabilities for career development in NEET young people.

Career Guidance, Health and Well-being (2017)
Journal Article
Robertson, P. (2017). Career Guidance, Health and Well-being. Career Matters, 5(1), 36-37

This is a brief article for practitioners in the Career Development Institute's magazine: Career Matters. It explores the links between work, health and well-being, and considers the implications for career development practice.

Social networking sites and employment status: an investigation based on Understanding Society data (2016)
Conference Proceeding
Mowbray, J., Raeside, R., Hall, H., & Robertson, P. (2016). Social networking sites and employment status: an investigation based on Understanding Society data. In IDIMC 2016: Exploring our digital shadow - from data to intelligence (75-85)

An analysis is made of secondary data derived from Understanding Society: The UK household longitudinal study (2012) as related to the use of social networking sites (SNSs) amongst 16-21 year olds. This explores the relationship between employment st... Read More about Social networking sites and employment status: an investigation based on Understanding Society data.

Career capabilities in disadvantaged youth (2016)
Presentation / Conference
Robertson, P. (2016, November). Career capabilities in disadvantaged youth. Paper presented at International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance (IAEVG) Annual Conference 2016, Madrid, Spain

Drawing on the "capability approach" of philosopher and economist Amartya Sen, this paper outlines a small empirical study to identify what kind of intervention may empower unemployed young people. Research interviews were conducted with 14 young peo... Read More about Career capabilities in disadvantaged youth.