There are many definitions of employability, some of them are misleading, others too narrow. Employability is often perceived as the chance to become employed for a job in today's economy. Caution: This view is far too limited!

Employability in fact designates the ability of finding, fulfilling and keeping work(whether employed or independent is irrelevant). Knowledge, skills and competences have to be maintained and refined in order to keep pace with the constantly changing outside world. The term might be used in the sense of "survivability" including cultural, intellectual, practical, societal and financial contentment.

To reach this contentment even with various or changing environments and requirements it is not enough to graduate with the knowledge and skills needed for a start in the individual professional life. The graduate should dispose as well of the ability to reflect on experiences, perspectives and to link those with the constant enhancement of her/his individual competences in order to progress and successfully cope with change throughout (working) life.

"Employability" is used for the ability to purposefully use all the different competences in order to fulfil given professional tasks and/or to reach own professional targets and to adapt these competences to new environments and requirements.

“EMPLOYABILITY” WITHIN THE BOLOGNA PROCESS