A Model for Enhancing Future Employment Skills among Vocational Students in Henan Province, China

บทคัดย่อ

This study reconsiders employability in Henan’s higher vocational colleges by focusing on students’ ability to sustain employment and adapt to change. The research objectives were: 1) to describe the profiles of emotional intelligence (EI), career adaptability (CA), and employability among final-year vocational students in Henan and identify key dimensions for the Henan Vocational Employability Model (HVEM); 2) to examine how EI and CA dimensions contribute to core employability components; and 3) to validate and refine the HVEM through expert review and teacher focus groups. A mixed research-and-development (R&D) design was adopted. The research population consisted of final-year students from six higher vocational institutions in Henan Province across engineering/manufacturing, information technology/management, agriculture/agri-processing, and chemical/environmental programmes, from which 384 valid questionnaires were collected using systematic sampling. Instruments included WLEIS, CAAS-SF, and an employability scale. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, reliability testing, exploratory factor analysis, and multiple regression, while model validation used IOC ratings and teacher focus groups.

The research result was found that: 1) Students reported moderate-to-high EI, CA, and employability overall; teamwork and use of emotion showed the highest mean scores, while curiosity and career planning were comparatively lower, indicating priority areas for model emphasis. 2) Career adaptability was the strongest driver: models explained 31%–36% of variance (R² = .31–.36), with concern (β = .31) and curiosity (β = .22) predicting career planning, control (β = .27) predicting self-management, and others’ emotion appraisal (β = .29) predicting teamwork. 3) Expert review confirmed all HVEM domains as relevant (IOC ≥ 0.73), and teacher feedback led to practical revisions, resulting in a final HVEM organised into three clusters—applicable to classroom practice, internship preparation, and provincial-level policy improvement in vocational education.