Student Number: 37399705

Module Code: IOP3701

Assignment: 1
Unique Number: 639875

Answer 1:

Employability and the importance thereof…

Employability refers to one’s capacity and willingness to become and remain relevant and attractive
in the labour market”

Organisations are rapidly evolving in this knowledge economy and the workplace norms of the past
are either non-existent or close to obsolesce. Gone are the days where individuals looked to
organisations to provide them with life-long employment and career growth and development.
1
Due to the rapidly evolving work environment caused by technological advancement, organisations
are no longer able to afford employees with life-long employment and security – their (the
organisations) existence in the current market is fragile. Organisations need to be agile and easily
adaptable to these advancement which has resulted in the downscaling of their permanent
workforce, the outsourcing of support functions and the employment of knowledge specialists on a
contractual basis. This has resulted in a shift in the psychological contract between organisations and
their employees. The shift is away from the organisations offering employment to individuals
increasing their employability to remain relevant in this environment.

But what is employability really?

Employability does not only include the skills required to do the job but refers to a holistic
employability experience which encompasses human capital, social capital and career capital.

Personally, with all the talk of the 4IR; AI and the rise of the digital economy, I have done some
personal introspection to ascertain if my current skill set and abilities would still be relevant in this
market. I recognised that I needed to develop myself in a number of areas of which I have pursuing
over the past few years – these include:

 Human Capital – this refers to your educational level, your qualifications, your work
experience and all work related experiences. I identified a major gap (based on my personal
expectations), a degree - I am currently pursuing this expect to complete this within the
year. This has been a major objective for me over the past 4 years.

Human Capital encompasses scholarship skills (problem-solving and decision making skills;
analytical skills and enterprising skills); global/moral citizenship skills and attributes
(presenting and applying information skills) and Life-long learning attributes (continuous
learning and goal directed behaviour).
I have realised that within this knowledge economy data analysis skills are key – I am looking
at pursuing a skills based certificate in this. Due to this rapidly evolving technological
focussed workplace, the required skill sets are also evolving and it will be impossible to get
accredited in every field that one is required to have experience in. Skills based certification
and training offer individuals opportunities to learn and develop relevant skills in a short
space of time thereby allowing them to remain relevant facilitating continuous learning.
 Student Number: 37399705
Module Code: IOP3701
Assignment: 1
Unique Number: 639875

It is essential to prioritise continuous learning – this does not have to be formal and I
personally benefit from reading books, blogs, podcasts and doing free online courses in
areas of interest.

 Social Capital – refers to an individual’s networks both personal and professional and the
ability to maintain and develop these relationships that will have a lifelong career benefit.
Due to my career in Recruitment, I have known the benefit of social media for a long time. I
have developed a large network on LinkedIn due to my interactions with clients and
candidates. I also write articles occasionally. The importance of social media literacy and
tools in this economy is essential. Organisations look to employ individuals for their network
and the influence that they able to wield. Personal Branding is therefore essential.

 Developing Interpersonal Skills - these are the softer skills required to be employable and
include Emotional Intelligence, Adaptability, Innovation, Persuasion and Collaboration.
Personally I have recently completed a Life Coaching Certification and Project Management
course in order to develop these skills.

The world of work has evolved – we have both the Gen Y/Millennials and Gen 2020 within the
market place. This workforce is not simply looking for work but are now more interested in their
perception of development and progression within the work environment.

In conclusion, it is evident that in this rapidly evolving knowledge based workplace, individuals need
to remain relevant by constantly upskilling and leveraging their own networks in order to meet their
own career objectives.

“The future is learning… “

 Student Number: 37399705
Module Code: IOP3701
Assignment: 1
Unique Number: 639875

Question 2:
2
My organisation is currently going through a transitional phase and my division (Recruitment) has
been advised that the function will no longer be required in the new structure. We have been told
to consider alternative career paths within the organisation. I have utilised the Career
Management Model by Greenhaus et al. (2010) which include the following 8 steps:

1. Career Exploration
This can be divided into self-exploration and environmental exploration.

 Self-Exploration: this step requires individuals to seek information about their personal
qualities, their interests, values and abilities.
 Environmental Exploration: encompasses the gathering of information/ investigation of
occupations, organisations and family needs.

Personally, I did not have any access to the Interest and Values assessments so I did a lot of
introspection in terms of where my interest resided. I did not only want to look at remaining in
HR, but also considered the other divisions within the organisations that might be of interest and
aligned to my own personal values. Having recently completed a Life Coaching Certification
course, a lot of the work that was done was on finding one’s core values from a work, personal
and family point of view. Based on this I understood that I enjoyed challenging work, I enjoyed
recognition for my work, working hard and learning and working on new things and I was
methodical. From an environmental aspect, I know that I have a young child and that the career
path that I would need to take would need to offer some flexibility. I looked within my
organisation, at the possible functions that would meet these criteria outside of HR and came up
with Audit and Investigations.

2. Awareness of Self – is a complete and accurate perception of ones qualities and the
characteristics of the environment.
Based on the above, I had a fairly good understating of who I am and what would be an
exciting opportunity for me.

3. Goal Setting – is a desired career related outcome.

Based on the organisational need, I needed to make a quick decision as the division is in the
process of being disbanded. I decided to challenge myself and move out of HR into Audit.
My goal is to become a Company Income Tax Auditor within my organisation within the next
year i.e. 1 April 2021.

4. Strategy Development- is a sequence of activities designed to help an individual attain a

career goal.
These include the steps that I need to take in order to become a CIT Auditor:
 Engage with my Line Manager in order to move into the CIT Audit space
 Do the in-house CIT training
 Move into the CIT division and start shadow an Auditor within this space for 6 months
 Start working on my cases
 Do an Audit Diploma to start in January 2022
 Student Number: 37399705
Module Code: IOP3701
Assignment: 1
Unique Number: 639875

5. Strategy Implementation
Implement the strategy outlined above but be flexible should anything change

6. Progress towards goal

Have milestones on specific dates to ensure that I am on track to achieve the goals

7. Feedback: work/non work

Have regular feedback session with my mentor as well as Line Manager to ensure that I am
on the right path

8. Career Appraisal
My organisation has performance appraisals every quarter. The objective of the appraisals
are set out at the beginning of the Financial Year in order to contract employees so that they
are aware of Performance Indicators that are set out for the year. I will have one drawn up
as soon as I change divisions so I will be aware of what is required from me. I will also be
able to measure myself on a monthly basis and will get formal feedback on my performance
from my Manager on a quarterly basis.

Bibliography:
Career: An Organisational perspective, 5th Edition, AMG Schreuder; M Coetzee, 2016
 RESULTS
Total = 23 / 30 (77%)
 COMMENTS
1 Suggested framework for answer (Schreuder & Coetzee, 2016, chapter 2, pp. 76-79) To have
successfully answered the question you should have discussed why you think it is important to stay
employable reflecting on strategies you have used, for example, career self-management and
continuous development of your own skills and abilities to enhance your employability. Attractiveness
in the labour market Human capital educational level, qualifications, work and life experience, work
related skills, transferable skills Career capital Knowing whom, knowing why and knowing how
Ongoing development of skills and abilities to be able to offer what is required in future Continuous
development of own skills and abilities to enhance employability: career behaviour, intrapersonal
attributes and interpersonal attributes reflective competencies communicative competencies
behavioural competencies Social media literacy e.g in my career I have ensured to diversify my
qualification from qualification in Human Resources, Training and Development Practices, IT, Project
Management and currently Industrial Psychology. It was also important to stay up to date with
legislation and new technology changes and have training in various payroll systems.

2 Suggested framework for answer (Schreuder & Coetzee, 2016, chapter 3, pp. 119-127). To have
successfully answered the question you should have reflected on Figure 3.2 in Schreuder and Coetzee
(2016, chapter 3, p. 119) and applied the eights steps of the model in your career planning. Plan and
implement career model Career exploration, environmental and self exploration Career goals:
specificity, flexibility, measurability, attainability etc Career strategy Career appraisal Self-exploration /
Environmental exploration In self-exploration, individuals do self-introspection about themselves and
their own personal qualities that can be valuable in career decision-making. Self-knowledge is the
foundation of successful career planning. Personal qualities include interests, values and proficiency
(ability to perform a specific task). Environmental explorations enable the individual to gather
information about the environment and consist of an investigation of occupations or organisations and
family needs. Example: I looked at my own interest and the one I had at that time was to become an
Industrial Psychologist and mainly to be able to work in organisations like HPCSA with some of the
people I know in the field. I really liked IOP and its practices in managing / controlling the profession.