An important strand in the literature promotes the idea that investment in employability, specifically in marketable skills and talents, self-presentation efficacy, actual levels of skill, knowledge and experience, will go a long way in addressing the problems caused by creative destruction. The paper examines employability policy and employees' perceptions of their employability in nine information and communication technologies (ICT) companies, located in Germany and in the Netherlands. In all these companies, sustained employability was problematic. Together, they form a critical case for testing some of the assumptions of employability thinking. Beyond this, the paper explores the space for action. Some of the companies pioneered sophisticated, high organizational involvement forms of employability enhancement, while others highlighted the interplay of employability and employee protection as a mechanism that can help create security.

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doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2012.725083, hdl.handle.net/1765/40822
International Journal of Human Resource Management
Erasmus School of Economics

Pruijt, H. (2013). Employability, empowerment and employers, between debunking and appreciating action: Nine cases from the ICT sector. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(8), 1613–1628. doi:10.1080/09585192.2012.725083