Running head: EMPLOYABILIY 1

Dr. Kiarie

SBME

Human Resource Management

24th May, 2018

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Employability

Most of the employers will invest in the development of the human capital in their

company with the aim of achieving cost savings while improving their performance of their

firms. Over the years human capital has always been one the essential elements critical to the

boosting company performance. It is therefore essential that employers consider the productivity

as well as the sustainability of their employees to ensure they are competitive. Human capital in

the most very general terms refers to the development that involves education, training, and

professional initiatives that improve employee skills, performance, values, and abilities that all

improve the performance of employees and the company at large. This paper examines

employability from an employers’ perspective, Dusseldorf’s labor market and its development,

the two main approaches to employability and their application at Helpdesk and finally makes

recommendations for improving employability.

Employability from Employer’s perspective

Employability in the perspective of the employer refers to the core skills that every job

needs. These are the skills that make graduates employable in their areas of specification. In most

cases, employment managers and human resource managers will be looking for these skills in

graduates seeking employment. They probably include soft skills that are essential in helping

someone work better with other employees within an organizational setup. These skills enable

one to have a better approach when it comes to solving problems with the capability of fitting in

any working environment (Husain et al. 2010). They similarly encompass the professional skills

that determine the success of an individual in the workplace. Such skills are also transferable in

the sense that one can apply them across different industries of the labor market. In determining
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the employability of graduates, employers in their perspective will focus on the two major skills

sets, that is professional skills and technical skills.

The Düsseldorf labor market and its development

Dusseldorf enjoys a very dynamic and open labor market. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the

unemployment rate in late 2016 stood at 7.4 percent that was 695, 833 people. The city is also

welcoming to foreigners from other states and countries as they have higher chances of getting

hired especially in the fields of trade, financial, automotive manufacturing, information and

communication technology, and energy. However, most of the job seekers in the area are

interested in the medical and healthcare, building, tax advice, transportation, and architecture.

The labor market in Germany is far much in better shape compared to most of its western

neighbors. For instance, in the past one decade, the country has seen a steady decline in its labor

market in since 2005. The labor markets of German are generally considered to be stable, decent

and highly regulated.

Population characteristics have a significant impact on the nature and development of the

labor market. An increase in either the young or older population means a lot of people will end

up in the labor market. Population growth leads to a transition in the labor market of a place with

this leading to increased pressure on land, and thus people move from the traditional reciprocal

type of labor to a commoditized one. People shift from subsistence to wage labor. Another

demographic factor affecting the nature of the labor market is intensity and age of marriage

which impact the level of female participation in the labor market. However, in the case of

Dusseldorf city, the need for commoditized labor increased not as a result of increased

population or transitions in the demographic conditions of the city but as a result of exogenous

demand for workforce. The rate of unemployment among youths in Dusseldorf at the moment
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stands at 3.3 percent. This group includes a population of people under the age of 25 years.

However, in the education market, it is more stable due to its strong economic power (Ruoff &

Bea, 2016). There is almost 6.8 percent of youths between the age of 15 and 25 that receive

money from the ARGE, a German Job Center. However, there is a problem with this as around

33 percent of those who receive support from ARGE have lower education levels with no

degrees. For this group of people, it is difficult to get jobs. This, therefore, means that the

demand for professionally qualified and educated people will be very high in the few coming

years while the need for the less educated will gradually go down. Concerning gender, statistics

show that 58.5 percent of the unemployed are under the age of 25 are men. It means that most of

the women in Dusseldorf are not affected by the unemployment cases in the city. Compared to

other cities in the country such as Koln, Bochum, Krefeld and many others, Dusseldorf’s

situation is far much stable. The unemployed number of youth is constant in the city. Despite the

city being very attractive regarding lifestyle and the quality of life, and economy, there is a need

for the government to come up with strategies that will deal with the unemployment rates among

the youth.

Concepts and approaches of the Employability and an analysis grid

The most commonly used approaches to employability are work first, and the human

capital development approaches. Work First approach mainly focuses on compulsory job search

as well as short-term interventions aimed at facilitating a quicker return to work for those that

had their work interrupted at some point. The human capital development concept, on the other

hand, refers to long-term initiatives tailored at personal development while promoting skills of

individuals over an extended period. The table below is a grid analysis of the two main

approaches to employability.
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Work First Approach Human Capital

Development Approach
Rationale Objectives Objectives

Facilitate a quicker return to Improve health, personal

work development and skills for the

long-term contribution to

economic returns both at the

aggregate and individual level

Locus of responsibility Individuals are responsibility Both institutions and

as they to improve on their individuals are responsible for

competence in terms of skills mutual control aimed at

and experience accumulation of resources in

the long run

Institutions involved Short term collaboration with Cooperation with institutions

agencies and companies for that provide training and other

instance NGOs specializing in services

job search
Time perspective Short term in relation to Medium to long term both in

benefit duration and service relation service and the

duration of benefit
Employability Functional/ market Fostering employability

employability
Analysis of HelpCheck
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This analysis will focus on Helpcheck. It is a legal company founded in 2016. It focuses

on making its customers aware of all legal rights relating to their insurance claims. With this

knowledge, customers can get their due refunds while protecting them from fraudulent insurance

scams. Through their platform, individuals can digitally review their insurance contracts to get

legal advice on the same. The company can use the human development approach to

employability. It is the best approach considering that it allows the company to make

partnerships with the colleges and other institutions for the long-term development of skills of

students.

Recommendations for action/improvement on the Employability from the point of view of an

employer.

From the perspective of the employer, that is Helpcheck has some alternatives to improve

the employability of graduates. One of these strategies would be a partnership with local

universities aimed at empowering students with the required technology to improve their

learning experience. It will help in promoting innovation among students while they are still in

school. The company should also make efforts to influence the curricula used in colleges and

universities. The business environment in the outside world is changing on a daily basis, and this

makes it necessary for students especially those in IT and computer related courses to be updated

on new trends in the labor market. It will equip them with the relevant skills in the market,

therefore, improving their employability after they leave colleges. Most of the employers in the

market acknowledge that the education system is incapable of providing students with work-

related skills that increase the mismatch between job seekers and what employers look for in

employees. The involvement of companies in the curricula will, therefore, fill the gap in the

skills required in the job market. Partnerships like this expose students to on job experience that
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make them more employable because most companies prefer to hire students that have been

exposed to their systems and operations before. It will improve both their professional and

technical skills making them ready for the job market.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that human capital is the most critical aspect to the success of any

business in the current world. Employers today invest significant amounts of money in the

development of the human resources with the aim of improving their performance and making

cost savings in a competitive business environment. Professional skills are the most desirable

skills today as opposed to technical skills that can be quickly learned. Employers are looking for

efficient individuals in for instance decision making, problem-solving, quick learners as these

skills are hard to learn because they are inherent in character and personality. The most common

approaches to employability are the Work First and human capital development approach. This

paper used the case of Helpcheck in using the human capital development approach in improving

the employability of graduates through partnerships with colleges and other institutions. It is

worth noting that it is only through partnerships between colleges and employer corporations that

can improve employability.

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References

helpcheck GmbH: Private Company Information - Bloomberg. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=375541667

Husain, M. Y., Mokhtar, S. B., Ahmad, A. A., & Mustapha, R. (2010). Importance of

Employability Skills from Employers’ Perspective. Procedia - Social and Behavioral

Sciences, 7, 430-438. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.10.059

Lindsay, C. (2014). Work First Versus Human Capital Development in Employability

Programs. Oxford Handbooks Online. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199764921.013.029

Ruoff, & Bea. (2016). Labour market developments in Germany: Tales of decency and stability.

(Series: Global Labour University Working Paper ; No.39.