BEYOND SKILLS: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL PATHWAY TO SELF-PERCEIVED EMPLOYABILITY

Abstract

Employability of graduates has emerged as a central issue for higher education institutions, given that employers increasingly demand not merely technical proficiency but also psychological resources that underpin career adaptability. While prior scholarship has explored psychological Capital and employability as distinct constructs, relatively few studies have elucidated the underlying mechanism by which psychological Capital enhances students' self-perceived employability. Accordingly, the present study seeks to examine the association between psychological Capital and self-perceived employability, with particular attention to the mediating function of employability skills. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted with 202 final-year undergraduate students from teacher education programs at Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia. Data were collected using validated Likert-scale questionnaires and analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) in AMOS 24. The structural model demonstrated a satisfactory fit (χ² = 152.671, p = .105, RMSEA = .025, CFI = .963, TLI = .957). The findings revealed that psychological Capital significantly predicted employability skills (β = .621, p < .001) and self-perceived employability (β = .361, p = .004). Employability skills also had a significant positive effect on self-perceived employability (β = .357, p = .004) and partially mediated the relationship between psychological Capital and self-perceived employability (Sobel test, p = .014). These findings support an integrated perspective that combines Social Cognitive Theory, Human Capital Theory, and Career Construction Theory, demonstrating that psychological resources facilitate employability by fostering employability skills.