A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book

Finnish University Students Constructing Their Ideal Employable Identities: A Case Study of Top Performing Experts




AuthorsHirvonen Inka, Siivonen Päivi, Komulainen Katri

EditorsSiivonen Päivi, Isopahkala-Bouret Ulpukka, Tomlinson Michael, Korhonen Maija, Haltia Nina

Publication year2023

Book title Rethinking Graduate Employability in Context: Discourse, Policy and Practice

First page 275

Last page297

ISBN978-3-031-20652-8

eISBN978-3-031-20653-5

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20653-5_13(external)

Web address https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20653-5_13(external)

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/179859184(external)


Abstract

The society has a great impact on defining what is a successful employable identity. This means that the construction of employable identity has become crucial to pursuing opportunities in the competitive labour market. In this article, employability is seen as a process where Finnish university students play out an identity project and construct their future-oriented employability. By applying narrative thematical analysis, the study shows that students constructed an ideal employable identity, designated as a Top Performing Expert. The process of constructing this identity contained three phases: 1. employability as a long-term goal, 2. constructing employability in a specific field, and 3. harnessing personality to strengthen employability. The authors suggest that identity process requires each individual’s own activity and problem-solving.


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Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 22:23