Employability among low-skill workers: Organizational expectations and practices in the US health care sector

Abstract

In today’s unstable and uncertain economy, middle-class and professional workers are expected to participate in employability activities, such as ongoing higher education and obtaining additional credentials. These activities are expected by employers, protect workers against layoff, and help to advance workers’ careers. In this article, we argue that the expectations of employability are increasingly being placed on lower-level workers by their employers, in partnership with educational institutions. We draw on 20 case studies of career development programs in a variety of health care settings across the United States. We found that through the development (and requirement) of credentials and partnerships with educational institutions, employers encouraged low-level employees to be continually considering their employability and career pathways. However, while the career development programs in our sample use many of the same employability practices seen among middle-class and professional workers, there were often minimal financial or educational rewards for low-level workers. Career programs that focused on established credentials (e.g. surgical technicians, registered nurses), though, were able to provide substantial upward social mobility for workers.