Bridging pre-professional identities: the contribution of trustworthiness and academic socialisation to undergraduates’ employability

Abstract

Purpose

The evolving dynamics of the labour market make graduates’ future employability an important issue for higher education (HE) institutions, prompting universities to complement the conventional graduate skills approach with a wider focus on graduate forms of capital that may enhance their sense of employability. This study, adopting a capital perspective, explores whether and how teachers in HE, when acknowledged as knowledgeable trustworthy actors, may affect graduates’ employability. It investigates how they can mobilise undergraduate cultural capital through socialisation, and shape their pre-professional identity, paving the way for university-to-work transition.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the hypothesised model, a self-report online questionnaire was administered to a sample of 616 undergraduates attending different Italian universities. Multiple mediating models were tested using the SEM framework.

Findings

Results supported the tested model and showed that trust in knowledgeable HE teachers was associated with undergraduates’ perceived employability both directly and through both mediators (i.e. academic socialisation and identification with future professionality).

Research limitations/implications

This research explores a capital conceptualisation of graduate employability, identifying possible processes for implementing graduates’ capital across their academic experience and providing initial evidence of their interplay and contribution to transition into the labour market.

Originality/value

These findings provide empirical support to possible forms of capital that HE institutions may fulfil to enhance their undergraduate employability throughout their academic career, which serves as a liminal space allowing undergraduates to begin building a tentative professional identity.

Citation

Farnese, M.L., Spagnoli, P., Scafuri Kovalchuk, L. and Tomlinson, M. (2024), "Bridging pre-professional identities: the contribution of trustworthiness and academic socialisation to undergraduates’ employability", Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 749-766. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-02-2024-0040

Introduction

Dominant discourses on graduates’ employability acknowledge undergraduates’ role in an increasingly knowledge-based labour market, including knowledge and skills acquired during university education that align with the demands of employers, thereby adding competitive value to their professional contributions (Tomlinson, 2017). In line with this perspective, several governments aim to enhance university graduates’ employability, conferring universities a pivotal role in providing education that enhances their readiness for the labour market (González-Romá et al., 2018; Reid et al., 2008; Trede et al., 2012). Therefore, future employability is becoming an increasingly significant focus of higher education (hereafter, HE) policy (Holmes, 2013; Smith, 2010; Tomlinson, 2012; Trevor-Roberts, 2006).

However, the growing labour market flexibility and instability contribute to the dynamic and fluid nature of professional identities, even more negotiated within specific work contexts. Hence, the conventional conceptualisation of employability as a status output of the academic career, where undergraduates are seen as repositories of knowledge valuable for the labour market, needs to be complemented with a conceptualisation of employability as an active social process. In this view, undergraduates engage in building and seeking legitimisation for their future professional identities within the labour market, thus allowing the transition from the identity of a student towards that of a graduate worker (Artess et al., 2017; Clarke, 2018; Fugate et al., 2004; Petruzziello et al., 2024; Smith, 2010; Tomlinson, 2012).

On the other hand, the changing nature of the labour market asks institutions for consistent change, challenging them to complement the conventional graduate skills approach to be more attuned to this dynamism. Specifically, universities should question how they can contribute to their graduates’ employability by supporting the construction of a preprofessional identity as an ongoing process that develops throughout their academic careers. Some evidence suggests that graduates’ employability also depends on the extent to which they can establish sound professional identities, grounding a bridge to their future employability (Jackson, 2016; Trede et al., 2012; Tomlinson and Jackson, 2021) and framing emergent work identities to claim to employers (Anderson and Tomlinson, 2021; Holmes, 2015).

In this perspective, the academic career becomes not only a learning environment to enhance undergraduates’ knowledge and skills, that is their human capital, but also a transitional space where they can mitigate uncertainty about their future and shape their professional identities whilst building other forms of career resources (Handley, 2018; Jackson, 2024).

While the importance of the different forms of capital is widely acknowledged by academics and practitioners alike, our understanding of employability capital is still limited. Existing employability theory identifies several core forms of capital, including human, psychological, social, cultural, identity, scholastic and market-value capital (see Donald et al., 2024). However, this conceptualisation is fragmented and needs a solid framework to integrate them. Hence, research should address issues such as defining the relationships between these forms, determining how to operationalise each of them effectively and empirically validating their relationships with employability outcomes and interplay with other factors (e.g. individual characteristics, organisational culture, national HE practices and labour market characteristics). Despite its importance, empirical evidence in this area remains limited, with few studies incorporating this perspective into employability research (Donald et al., 2019; Gonzales-Romà et al., 2018; Tomlinson and Jackson, 2021).

The present study aims to address this gap by exploring the key social processes that may help undergraduates to emerge and shape their pre-professional identities, thus enhancing their employability. The employability capital perspective posits that strengthening graduates’ human capital by equipping them with formal academic learning and skills, should be extended with practices that enhance other personal resources. These resources are helpful for navigating unstable career trajectories, translating acquired knowledge into workplace performance and establishing connections between employment opportunities, future goals and personal resources and attitudes (Donald et al., 2019; Fugate et al., 2004; Lo Presti and Pluviano, 2016; Tomlinson et al., 2022; Trevor-Roberts, 2006).

Drawing on this conceptual model, we propose that HE teachers [1], when perceived as trustworthy knowledgeable actors, may enhance undergraduate social capital by helping them build relational resources. They also contribute to undergraduates’ employability through a twofold process. Firstly, they help make sense of professional standards and how practices unfold and relate to future professional settings, thereby enhancing the undergraduates’ socialisation process. Secondly, they serve as models, affecting how emerging identities are negotiated and constructed. These processes, in turn, contribute to undergraduates’ employability, on the whole strengthening their social, cultural and identity forms of capital because these resources are crucial in shaping future graduates’ relationships with their professional contexts and practices.

In doing so, this study contributes to the literature in three ways. First, it addresses Donald and colleagues’ (2024) call to add to the empirical base of the capital conceptual model, by providing empirical evidence to support it, identifying and operationalising some core forms of undergraduates’ capital and their role in fostering undergraduate perceived employability. Second, this study further addresses this call, exploring how these different forms of capital interrelate, outlining a comprehensive path that contributes to undergraduates’ employability. Third, it also extends the traditional focus on the graduates’ university-to-work final transition, to the whole undergraduate academic career as a liminal period. Indeed, the transition from HE to work is an active process during which undergraduates can empower their knowledge but also feel a safe context that allows and encourages the emergence of their pre-professional identity through negotiation and legitimation processes involving significant actors (Holmes, 2015; Tomlinson, 2023). This adds to the conversation about potential HE policies, outlining implications for practice, including the important role that HE teachers play in enhancing students’ capitals development.

The paper is structured as follows. The first section introduces the theoretical concepts that inform the study, reviewing the literature on undergraduates’ employability and pinpointing some processes that may enable it. We then propose a process model to account for perceived employability, via pre-professional identity enhancement. Finally, we outline the research methodology and present our main findings. In the Discussion section, we relate our model to important current themes in pre-professional identity literature, suggest possible areas for further research and discuss the implications of the findings for employability policies.

Theoretical framework

Undergraduates' employability

Adopting a social construction perspective (Tomlinson, 2012; Holmes, 2015), undergraduate employability can be conceptualised as an ongoing identity work that underpins a future-oriented perspective and expresses the individuals’ capability to proactively nurture and exploit personal resources to address university-to-work transitions. In doing so, they effectively address the challenges of the labour market and pursue career opportunities aligned with their desired professional identity (Fugate et al., 2004). More specifically, perceived employability relates to the likelihood of successfully securing a desired job, going beyond the appropriateness to a graduate’s qualification level criteria (Rothwell et al., 2009) and encompassing personal expectations and perception of being worthy of such employment (Handley, 2018; Holmes, 2013).

The growing turbulence and unpredictability that inform the labour market pose challenges to the process of employability. This heightened uncertainty contributes to a sense of insecurity among undergraduates, lowering their confidence in envisioning their job prospects and shaping their professional trajectories (Smith, 2010).

Given these contextual conditions, we contend that universities can enhance employability not only by strengthening their undergraduates’ human capital (i.e. providing them with the most desirable level of formal learning and skills) but also by fostering their pre-professional identity development through other forms of capital. The resource-based approach to employability includes various forms of capital helpful to support the undergraduate university-to-work transition, as outlined in Tomlinson’s (2017) Graduate Capital Model, Clarke’s (2018) model and Donald et al.’s (2019) model; recently integrated into Donald et al.’s (2024) Employability Capital Grow Model. These models propose an articulated and fragmented set of capital forms, which can nonetheless be encompassed into the human, social, cultural, identity and psychological forms of capital, as key resources affecting undergraduates’ potential employability (see Tomlinson, 2017).

In this study, adopting a relational focus, we specifically examined the contribution of social capital, identity capital and cultural capital to undergraduate employability, excluding psychological capital which pertains to intrapsychic aspects. Social capital helps undergraduates mobilise their human capital through social ties with significant others, promoting networks and facilitating access to a wealth of information and opportunities (Clarke, 2018; Donald et al., 2019). Identity capital pertains to how undergraduates perceive themselves as future professionals, the opportunities they believe are feasible, how they form goals and strategic choices and how they anticipate and proactively pursue their future careers (Jackson, 2016; Tomlinson and Jackson, 2021; Trede et al., 2012). Cultural capital involves the development of cultural knowledge and accepted behaviours that align with potential professional settings and workplaces. This encompasses the ability to understand and differentiate various organisational contexts, to act in line with field-specific rules, to manage interpersonal relationships with sound and appropriate behaviours and to be aware of cultural values and practices (Donald et al., 2019; Tomlinson, 2017). Overall, this form of capital empowers undergraduates to feel and be recognised as integral members of a professional community and to negotiate their own membership within that community (Tomlinson, 2021). Similarly, Hinchliffe and Jolly (2011) suggest that understanding the enactment of professional practices and constructing a legitimate identity are core processes for undergraduate employability, more than skill possession.

In the following, we propose a model (see Figure 1) hypothesising that, when university-level teachers are recognised as trustworthy knowledgeable actors, they play a central role in supporting undergraduates’ employability through a dual process aimed at reducing uncertainty and anticipating job opportunities. Specifically, they may enhance an overall anticipatory socialisation process, that is a form of cultural capital involving learnings beneficial for understanding key professional competencies, gaining clarity on potential future roles and linking academic knowledge to employer expectations (Korte and Lin, 2013). Additionally, HE teachers may exert a modelling function, serving as proxies for the professionals that undergraduates aspire to become (Sluss et al., 2012). For instance, they may offer a landscape of practices, provide work-integrated learning experiences, and embody professional values, thereby contributing to the shaping of undergraduate identity capital and, in turn, fostering stronger perceived employability. They also play a role in shaping students’ professional knowledge, outlooks and dispositions that may be empowering for them.

HE teachers' trustworthiness and undergraduate employability

Trustworthiness represents a key relational resource that contributes to enhancing both bonding ties, strengthening cohesion among members of a group; and bridging ties, facilitating connections to other groups or contexts. Specifically, in the context of employability, interpersonal trust helps foster reciprocal relations based on positive implicit expectations about the other party’s knowledge and reputation, for instance between employer and potential new hired; facilitates the expansion of personal networks, assuming that others will act in a professional way and enhances own perception of being a person worthy of being employed (Gelderblom, 2018; Holmes, 2013). Institutional trust further frames overarching expectations that extend beyond specific interactions or individuals, enabling the expression of professionalism in relationships involving both formal and informal intermediaries (Pearce, 2000).

This study focuses on trust in HE teachers’ knowledgeability, defined as the set of competencies, skills and knowledge essential for exerting influence within a specific professional domain (Mayer and Davis, 1999). We argue that, when undergraduates perceive their teachers as trustworthy in ability and valuable sources of knowledge, this may contribute to their social capital for employability in several ways (Niedlich et al., 2021). Firstly, teachers are enablers of institutional trust, representing the university as a reputable HE institution capable of transferring to graduates the requisite attributes and legitimacy to foster their employability. Indeed, when they are perceived as trusted and valued ties, they may represent epistemic sources (Kruglanski et al., 2009) and impart important insights into professional domains. In low predictable labour market conditions, this intermediary role becomes particularly relevant because generalised expectations need to be complemented with a more specific and contextualised understanding of the other (e.g. the single university reputation; Rothwell et al., 2009).

In this sense, HE teachers act as “gatekeepers” in the relationship between individual graduates and the field of employment opportunities, including potential employers, professional associations and recruitment companies (Holmes, 2013; Smith, 2010). The trustworthiness of teachers serves as a resource that can be transferred to their undergraduates, rendering them worthy of trust in their abilities as well. This trust spillover process enhances undergraduates’ legitimacy, as they are endorsed by a trusted agency (Bachmann et al., 2015; Farnese et al., 2022a). It extends their social capital, acting both as a bonding resource within a network the undergraduates identify with and belong to (Korte and Lin, 2013) and as a bridging resource, facilitating their access to future career-related relationships (González-Romá et al., 2018). Overall, teachers’ trustworthiness represents a crucial initial source for social capital development. When perceived as trusted and valued relational ties, teachers foster undergraduates’ feeling of membership toward a professional community, both within the academic context and beyond. This contributes to imparting important insights into professional domains and establishing a bridging link between undergraduates’ academic careers and their future professions.

While existing literature highlights the significant role of trust in employability, there is a shortage of empirical evidence on this relationship. Drawing on the above literature, this study aims to examine the trustworthiness–employability relationship, hypothesising that the higher the perception of teachers’ trustworthiness in knowledge and skills, the more undergraduates will feel worthy of being employed:

H1.

Trust in HE teachers’ knowledgeability positively relates to perceived employability.

The learning path through academic socialisation

An important process that we propose contributes to undergraduates’ perceived employability is enhancing their cultural capital by increasing their degree of learning and mastery across different academic socialisation domains. Studies within the academic context showed that the socialisation process facilitates student’s adjustment to their new roles within the university organisation, allows integration into explicit and implicit social norms and fosters workplace relationships (Day and Livingstone, 2003; Farnese et al., 2022b; Lo Presti et al., 2023; Padgett et al., 2010; Weidman et al., 2014). Successful academic socialisation also provides a bridge toward socialisation in professional practices and workplaces (Shields, 2002), enabling undergraduates to acquire essential values, attitudes, knowledge and skills and envision future career paths. Hence, graduate socialisation can be conceptualised as a “double process” where new students simultaneously acquire the role of graduates and receive anticipatory socialisation to understand how professional practices unfold in their future careers (Anderson and Tomlinson, 2021; Golde, 1998; Hinchliffe and Jolly, 2011). It is therefore a significant bedrock to their formation of professional identity.

The development of this form of cultural capital, achieved through ongoing information-seeking and sense-giving processes, allows undergraduates to build frameworks helpful to learning how to align with current and future professional settings, thus paving the way for a heightened sense of employability. In line with the uncertainty reduction perspective, suggesting that relevant others are crucial sources for achieving socialisation goals (Haueter et al., 2003; Louis, 1980; Taormina, 2004), we posit that in educational contexts HE teachers potentially embody one of the most relevant information sources for students (Myers and Knox, 2001). They function as expert guides by virtue of their supervisory role and expertise, with their behaviours reflecting abilities, competencies, reliability and ways of performing different professional roles (Jungermann et al., 1996; Romero, 2015; Tschannen-Moran, 2004). Therefore, when teachers are acknowledged as experienced and knowledgeable actors, they become prominent sources of information that may provide an interpretative schema for the understanding of the academic context and their student’s role (e.g. performing key professional features, showcasing different potential professional roles, reflecting on labour market opportunities). Meanwhile, they serve an anticipatory socialisation role that helps undergraduates make sense of their emergent professional identity, bridging it to future potential professional contexts (Holmes, 2015; Jackson, 2016; Louis, 1980). Overall, we propose the following hypothesis:

H2.

Academic socialisation mediates the relationship between trust in HE teachers’ knowledgeability and perceived employability.

The modelling path through pre-professional identity

Identity capital is another significant resource for graduate employability, supporting their graduation-to-work transition and enhancing their career readiness (Tomlinson et al., 2022). The progressive development of a future working self-acts as a cognitive framework that helps undergraduates envision their future careers, gauge their fit with different labour market scenarios and support their motivation to actively pursue opportunities aligned with their aspirations (Fugate et al., 2004). Therefore, a stronger pre-professional identity improves undergraduates’ sense of potentially being worthy employable workers (Handley, 2018; Jackson, 2016; Trede et al., 2012) and helps them construct a legitimate professional identity (Hinchliffe and Jolly, 2011).

Scholars suggest that the development of identity work occurs through ongoing comparison with significant others who have identity features representing different degrees of prototypicality. This comparison enacts a self-evaluative process that can influence attitudes and behaviours (Hogg, 2000), confirm or challenge the claimed identity (Holmes, 2015) and motivate individuals to seek membership within a professional group and attain acceptance as full members (Hogg, 2000). Therefore, we posit that an additional factor influencing perceived undergraduate employability is the shaping function trustworthy may play on their emerging professional identity. In other words, trust in knowledgeable teachers may nurture undergraduate pre-professional identity by enhancing their sense of “being a professional” (Paterson et al., 2002; Sluss et al., 2012).

For instance, epistemic theory (Kruglanski et al., 2009; Raviv et al., 2003) provides insights into how the perceived authority of a source influences individuals’ acknowledgement and engagement in seeking information from that source. Thus, when teachers are perceived as authorities possessing profession-related knowledge and competence, they are likely to become representative of prototypical features of the profession they teach. This leads undergraduates to consider them as reliable sources within the professional domain, considering them as epistemic authorities to trust and rely upon. Teachers, in this context, serve as guides, providing students with sense-making tools for learning how to think and act in a professional way (Louis, 1980).

In a similar vein, social learning theory (Bandura, 2016) suggests that significant social actors can serve as models for identification. The more attractive these models are perceived (e.g. prestigious, expert) the greater the observers’ attention to their behaviour and the motivation to become similar to them, mirroring those behaviours in an effort to acquire the models’ skills and related rewards. In essence, these theories suggest that trustworthy teachers may function as role models, leading undergraduates to inhabit similar identities, thereby contributing towards shaping their future professional identity and, subsequently, perceived employability. Building on this framework, we propose the following hypothesis:

H3.

Pre-professional identity mediates the relationship between trust in teachers’ knowledgeability and perceived employability.

We also posit that socialisation plays a role in shaping undergraduate identity capital, since its primary aim is to transform newcomers into full members of their organisations (Ashforth, 2001). This identity transition involves internalising the norms, values and behaviours associated with one’s future professional role (Fugate et al., 2004).

Socialisation can enhance pre-professional identity formation through a twofold process. Firstly, by progressively supporting the acquisition of specific knowledge and skills essential for their expected professionality, connecting them to the intended profession and embedding them into their self-concept, socialisation leads undergraduates towards developing a sense of “being professionals” (Ashforth, 2001). Secondly, by understanding how to interact with significant others, gaining awareness of and sharing cultural values and practices and feeling accepted by a professional community, socialisation affects the undergraduate process of identification and the emergence of group identity (Lo Presti et al., 2023; Sluss et al., 2012). Hence, socialisation may expedite the university-to-work transition, contributing to sharpening undergraduates’ pre-professional identity and, in turn, fostering their perception of being employable graduates.

In summary, we hypothesise that trustworthiness in knowledgeable teachers contributes to greater self-perceived employability also through a third pathway, involving both the socialisation and pre-professional identity work processes:

H4.

Academic socialisation and pre-professional identity mediate the relationship between trust in teachers’ knowledgeability and perceived employability.

Method

Context of the research

This study focuses on Italian undergraduates, facing a challenging labour market compared to other European Union countries. Indeed, Italy exhibits a significant gap in the percentage of graduates compared to the European average, with only 26.8% of individuals holding a degree, as opposed to the EU average of 41.6% (Istat report, 2022). Additionally, the return to employment for Italian graduates is lower on average, with a youth employment rate of 82.1%, compared to the European rate of 86.4% (Istat report, 2022). Specifically, the employment rate among graduates one year after graduation is about 77.1% for master’s degrees (Alma Laurea, 2023), even if the trend showed a progressive improvement after the severe economic crisis between 2008 and 2012, which strongly impacted the Italian labour market, especially affecting young people (Lo Presti et al., 2023). Hence, the expansion of HE in Italy appears to mismatch a consistent demand in the labour market, influencing the perception among new graduates regarding their prospects of successfully finding a qualified job.

This scenario makes the role of HE institutions even more relevant not only in ensuring their students graduate with effective knowledge and skills but also in shaping their pre-professional identities and equipping them with a wider set of capital to support their university-to-work transition through a more nuanced and dynamic pattern.

Participants and procedure

A total of 616 Italian undergraduates aged 19 to 30 (M = 23.44; SD = 2.36) were involved in the study. The sample was composed of 210 (34.1%) males and 406 (65.9%) females. Participants attended different courses in several Italian universities in the north, centre and south of Italy. Participants attended a three-year bachelor’s degree 261 (42.4%), a master’s degree 278 (45.1%) or a single-cycle degree 62 (10.1%). They attended different degree courses (Psychology 37.2%; Engineering 10.1%; Economy 9.6%; Medicine and Biology 8.1%; Law 7.5%; Social Sciences 7.0%; Arts and Literature 5.4%; Others 12.7%) while 15 (2.4%) did not respond. There were 402 (65.3%) unemployed students, 180 (29.2%) of them part-time workers, 31 (5%) full-time workers and 3 (0.5%) missing.

Data were collected through online questionnaires using a non-discriminative snowball sampling approach: psychology students attending a practical laboratory were invited to forward the overall survey to students from their and other courses in their network. Participants were informed that acceptance was voluntary and that the research was not commissioned by the University they were enrolled. In addition, the research team member clarified that students’ responses would be kept confidential and anonymous and that data would always be reported in an aggregate form. The first author’s Ethics Committee approved the study.

Measures

Trust in the teachers’ knowledgeability was measured using five items from trustworthiness Mayer and Davis’s (1999) scale, with the university teachers being the items’ referent. This measure assesses the undergraduates’ perception of their teachers’ knowledge and ability (i.e. “My course teachers are very capable of performing their job”). Responses were given on a five-point scale varying from 1 “strongly disagree” to 5 “strongly agree”.

Academic socialisation was assessed with the 18-item Undergraduate Socialisation Questionnaire (Farnese et al., 2022b), an adaptation of the Organisational Socialisation Questionnaire (Haueter et al., 2003) to the academic context. It includes three facets, related to different socialisation learning domains. The first domain – task – relates to acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to perform the student’s job, such as understanding their main responsibilities and priorities and identifying relevant information sources (seven items, i.e. “I understand how to perform the tasks that are required in order to complete my work”); the second domain – group – relates to learning about the explicit and implicit norms within the class, values in use and appropriate behaviour (five items, i.e. “I know how to manage relationships within my group of colleagues”); and the third domain – organisation – relates to acquiring knowledge regarding procedures, specific language, politics and shared values of the Faculty or University (six items, i.e. “I understand the organisational procedures of this Faculty - e.g. who does what, forms, schedules”). Participants were asked to respond on a five-point scale ranging from 1 “strongly disagree” to 5 “strongly agree”.

Pre-professional identity was measured with a single item developed by Bergami and Bagozzi (2000) to capture identity self-categorisation, previously adapted to undergraduates. “Please think about the typical professional formed by your degree course (e.g. Psychology > psychologist; Law > lawyer). How much do you feel like this professional?”. The participants were asked to indicate the degree of overlap on a five-point scale ranging from 1 “not at all similar” to 5 “quite similar”.

Perceived employability of undergraduates was measured using the future prospects five-item scale from the Organisational Socialisation Inventory (Taormina, 2004) (i.e. “This Faculty offers in-depth training to develop professional knowledge and job skills”). Responses were given on a five-point scale varying from 1 “strongly disagree” to 5 “strongly agree”.

For each measure, a rigorous translation process was conducted.

Control variables. Control variables included gender, age, degree courses, hours of studying and employment status. Specifically, given the difficult comparison of academic tenure among different study paths, we considered Age as a proxy for academic tenure. Research on graduate samples showed that awareness of one’s own employability changes over time. While some studies confirmed a positive relationship between self-perceived employability and the university career stage, assuming growing awareness and capabilities (for instance a study on an Italian sample found that master’s students exhibited greater awareness of their potential for employment and achieving their own professional goals, compared to bachelor’s students; Caricati et al., 2016), some others highlighted a negative relationship, due to the growing awareness of the challenges of employability going on in the academic career (Jackson and Wilton, 2017; Qenani et al., 2014).

Gender was considered a potential control factor since different studies highlighted a complexity in gender differences buffering effect on employability (Caricati et al., 2016; Donald et al., 2019).

Hours of studying were tapped by a behavioural self-report single item (i.e. “How many hours do you study on average in a day?”) rated on a five-point frequency scale from 1 “Not at all” to 5 “More than 6 h a day”. This indicator was considered a proxy for students’ engagement.

Given the prevalence of psychology students in our sample, we also took into account this factor, differentiating psychology students from all other students. Hence, Degree courses were recorded in two groups: psychologists (37.3%) and other courses (60.2%).

Employment status was considered a potential control factor since it was found that workers display higher levels of employability, cope better with job insecurity and in general perceive greater job opportunities (Fugate et al., 2004).

Data analyses

Means, standard deviations, reliabilities and intercorrelations among study variables were implemented using the statistical software SPSS 25. The hypotheses were tested with regression-based structural equation modelling in MplusVersion 7.0 (Muthén and Muthén, 2012) using Robust Maximum Likelihood (MLR) estimation method. In order to obtain 95% confidence intervals for the indirect effects, the bootstrap procedure (5000 in our case) was used. All observed scores were loaded on the related latent construct.

Model fit was assessed according to the following criteria: χ², CFI (Comparative Fit Index), TLI (Tucker–Lewis Index), RMSEA (Root Mean Square Error of Approximation) and SRMR (Standardised Root Mean Square Residual). Since the χ² test is sensitive to large sample sizes and easily produces a statistically significant result (Kline, 2016), we only considered the indices of CFI, TLI, RMSEA and SRMR to evaluate the goodness of our model, where TLI and CFI values greater than 0.90 (Bentler, 1990) indicate models with good data fit, while RMSEA and SRMR values should be less than 0.08 (Hu and Bentler, 1999).

Results

Table 1 shows the zero-order correlations among study variables and their reliability. Strong positive correlations were found among all four study variables. The reliability coefficients expressed by Cronbach α ranged from 0.74 to 0.90, indicating satisfactory internal reliability for all variables.

In order to exclude nonsignificant control variables that unnecessarily reduce statistical power (Becker, 2005), we also computed correlations with the control variables. Based on zero-order correlation results among them (see Table 1), three control variables (age, hours of studying and degree courses) were included in our hypothesised model.

Estimates for the hypothesised relationships

Results of the SEM analysis indicated that the hypothesised multi-mediated model with latent variables (Model 1) fitted the data quite well, except for TLI = 0.89. Following modification indices, we correlated the error terms of items 2 and 3 (both from the future employability scale) and items 7 and 9 (both from the trustworthiness in the teachers’ ability scale). These covariances of item errors indicate similar conceptual content, since they present a unique variance origin (Brown, 2015). The new fit (Model 2) improved, showing adequate fit indices (Table 2).

Hypothesis 1 predicted that trustworthiness in the teachers’ ability would be positively related to future employability. As shown in Figure 2, trustworthiness was positively and strongly related to employability (B = 0.497, p = 0.000), providing support for it. Hypothesis 2 proposed that academic socialisation would mediate the relationship between trustworthiness and perceived employability. Our results confirmed this mediation path (estimate = 0.077, 95% bootstrap CI: 0.030 to 0.123) that explained 21% of the variance of the direct effect. Hypothesis 3 stated that pre-professional identity would mediate the relationship between trustworthiness and perceived employability. Results confirmed the existence of this mediation path (estimate = 0.036, 95% bootstrap CI: 0.013 to 0.059), which explained 15% of the variance of the direct effect. Finally, Hypothesis 4 proposed the existence of a multi-mediating effect through both academic socialisation and pre-professional identity in the trustworthiness-employability relationship. Our results also provided support for this hypothesis (estimate = 0.021, 95% bootstrap CI: 0.008 to 0.034).

Moreover, future employability was negatively related to age (B = −0.134; p = 0.000) and positively to degree courses (B = 0.093; p = 0.007), meaning that students who are further in their academic careers felt less employable compared to those in the early stages and that Psychology students felt less employable than those attending other courses. Identification as well was positively related to degree courses (B = 0.078, p = 0.042), meaning that Psychology students felt less employable than others, and to hours of studying (B = 0.113, p = 0.004), the more identified undergraduates being also more engaged in studying. Finally, academic socialisation was positively related to age (B = 0.101, p = 0.019) and to hours of studying (B = 0.103, p = 0.030), that is the more socialised undergraduates are also more engaged and further in their academic careers.

Discussion

The present study examined how specific forms of capital impact the perceived employability of undergraduates. The findings revealed that trust in knowledgeable teachers acted as a relational capital capable of strengthening the undergraduates’ sense of employability both directly and indirectly, mobilising their understanding of the academic context and role (part of their cultural capital) and pre-professional identity development (part of their identity capital).

Theoretical and practical implications

These findings offer preliminary empirical support for the capital model in several ways. Firstly, they support the model conceptualisation by showing how several forms of capital shape undergraduate employability, complementing the well-established human capital contribution (Donald et al., 2019, 2024; Clarke, 2018; Petruzziello et al., 2024; Tomlinson, 2017). Secondly, the study proposes a potential operationalisation of capital, showing how each of the different forms of capital (i.e. social, cultural and identity capitals) can be actualised in specific constructs that foster employability (in this study, respectively, trustworthiness, socialisation and pre-professional identity). Thirdly, the tested model shows how each form of capital relates to employability and how the interplay among them contributes to a comprehensive path that enhances undergraduates’ employability. Indeed, the tested model shows that each form of capital represents a resource affecting the degree undergraduates’ sense of being employable both directly and indirectly, through a dual process fostering their capability to understand and foresee future work contexts, and a progressively clearer definition of the desired future professional identity.

This study also offers insights by focussing on the whole undergraduate academic career and positing it as a crucial liminal space where undergraduates initiate their employability efforts and continue to negotiate their identities and build resources (Jackson, 2016; Holmes, 2015; Tomlinson, 2023). Throughout this period, students actively shape tentative professional identities, also thanks to comparisons and negotiations with significant others, in this study trusted teachers in HE (Niedlich et al., 2021). These processes usually unfold with low awareness. However, HE can also actively and continuously empower these processes through dedicated policies and interventions. For instance, universities can implement interventions for undergraduates aimed at intertwining their human capital, developed through academic courses, with a deeper understanding of the future professional context. Among them, are mentorship programs, where mentors (e.g. alumni, professionals) can offer valuable guidance, advice and insights to help students navigate their career paths; internship experiences in real-world settings, that enhance students’ skills while enabling them to build relationships with professionals in their field; and diversity and inclusion initiatives to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for undergraduates, emphasising the value of diversity in the workplace and fostering a climate of psychological safety that allow exploring their own identities (e.g. unique knowledge and attitudes, professional expectations and cultural backgrounds). Overall, these interventions can provide students with information, raise awareness of the context and promote reflexivity on the interplay between theories and professional practices in use, thus paving the way to develop HE students’ social, cultural and identity capital.

Concurrently, universities can implement interventions targeting HE-level educators aimed to enhance their awareness of the modelling role they play in shaping undergraduates’ future professional identities and establishing connections with the labour market. For instance, HE may offer training and professional development programmes for teachers and other educators, to support their role in promoting and mediating students’ own professional identities, knowledge and practices. Teachers can so empower this function by encouraging work-integrated learning experiences during their classes, such as inviting experts or professionals, conducting workshops, supervising internship activities, sharing professional experiences and analysing case studies. These and other interventions can help undergraduates anticipate the feeling of being part of a professional community and develop their employability.

Overall, HE institutions may fulfil a foremost function for anticipatory socialisation by providing models of core professional features and ways to perform professional practices that help undergraduates to reflect on “who they are” and “who they want to be”, start defining their desired professional self and adjust behaviours, feelings and thoughts in line with the foreshadowed future professionality (Fugate et al., 2004). In other words, universities represent a “transition bridge” for employability, allowing their undergraduates to assess different opportunities, various roles and multiple identities through social interaction with knowledgeable actors (Ashforth, 2001; Sluss et al., 2012; Smith, 2010). The role of significant others, such as HE teachers and also other professional practitioners, may be crucial; especially for those who do not have family-derived capitals.

Limitations and research future directions

The current study has several limitations that warrant consideration. Firstly, the cross-sectional design of the research hinders a comprehensive examination of the mediation paths, thus future longitudinal studies should be conducted to confirm our results. Furthermore, convenience sampling led to a prevalence of psychology students. Although this aspect was controlled for in the model, the results showed some specific effects. Therefore, future studies could provide a granular analysis of possible differences depending on the course of study (e.g. stem degrees vs non-stem). Additionally, the exclusive reliance on self-reported data implies the possibility of methodological bias (Pdsakoff et al., 2003). Future research should strive to include objective indicators of success in the university-to-labour market transition, such as effective employment or other outcomes (Donald et al., 2024).

Another limitation is the broad interpretation of the role of teachers, which may vary across different national and academic contexts. Future studies could analyse in more detail how the several actors composing the academic staff contribute to the employment process. They could also focus on cross-cultural comparison, considering the specificities of national backgrounds and differences in the labour market occupational prospects for graduates, thus contributing to generalising results to other EU or non-European countries. Moreover, while we treated teachers as a collective entity, it is worth exploring how the perceived trustworthiness of individual teachers as specific epistemic sources (Kruglanski et al., 2009) may affect HE students’ preprofessional identity and, in turn, their employability. Furthermore, in case of low trust or even distrust, the enabling role of HE teachers may be ineffective in supporting model practices and behaviours, thus further studies could explore whether and how they engender counter-productive patterns.

In general, forthcoming studies grounded in the capital model could contribute to its enhancement by additional constructs for operationalising different forms of capital. This would result in a nuanced conceptualisation capable of capturing specific and multifaceted features associated with each form of capital. To gain a deeper understanding of the relationships between forms of capital and employment, future studies should also consider the interplay with other forms of capital such as the psychological capital, related to individuals’ attitudes (e.g. self-efficacy, optimism, proactivity and learning orientation). As well, some contextual variables (such as differences in degree courses, Caricati et al., 2016; or student employment, Jackson, 2024) or other external factors (Clarke, 2018; Donald et al., 2024) might play a buffering role in undergraduates’ agency and the onset of a sense of employability.

Figures

Figure 1

The theoretical model

Figure 2

The tested model

Table 1

Descriptions, inter-correlations and reliabilities of the study variables

Variables	Mean	SD	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1. Gender	–	–
2. Age	23.44	2.36	−0.13**
3. Degree courses	–	–	−0.26**	−0.06
4. Employment status	–	–	−0.12**	0.21**	0.02
5. Hours of studying	3.19	0.96	0.16**	0.10*	−0.01	−0.04
6. Trust in teachers’ knowledgeability	3.81	0.63	0.13**	0.06	−0.11**	−0.08	0.17**	(0.74)
7. Academic socialisation	3.69	0.51	−0.01	0.12**	−0.04	0.00	0.14**	0.32**	(0.88)
8. Pre-professional identity	3.40	0.98	−0.04	−0.01	0.06	−0.05	0.18**	0.25**	0.30**	–
9. Perceived employability	3.06	0.86	−0.01	−0.09*	0.07	−0.08	0.10*	0.48**	0.40**	0.39**	(0.90)

Note(s): Gender was coded as 1 = men and 2 = women; Employment status was coded as 1 = unemployed, 2 = part-time work and 3 = full-time work; Degree courses was coded as 1 = psychologist; 2 = other courses. p < 0.001; *p < 0.05; Cronbach’s alphas are in the diagonal in italic

Source(s): Table by authors

Table 2

Fit indices of the multi-mediated model with latent variables

Models	X2 (df)	CFI	TLI	RMSEA	SRMR
Model 1 Multi-mediated model without correlations	432.044 (105)	0.909	0.885	0.072	0.056
Model 2 Multi-mediated model with error terms correlations	297.771 (103)	0.946	0.930	0.056	0.048

Source(s): Table by authors

Notes

1. In academic settings, the role of a teacher may be either clearly defined and distinct from that of researchers or professors (who typically hold more senior positions); or fulfilled by playing these multiple roles simultaneously. This is the case of countries like Italy, the national context in which this research was carried out. In this study, we use the term “teacher” inclusively to encompass any academic who undertakes educational responsibilities with HE students (i.e. who engages in lecturing, supervising, instructing or other educational activities), regardless of their specific title or position within the academic hierarchy and other kind of activities they may play.

Ethical approval: Institutional Review Board of Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, prot. 00152.