A capability approach to career development: An introduction and implications for practice

In the UK, the concept of employability is influential in current conceptualizations of career development. It is an example of a discourse underpinned by faith in individual transformation as a response to unstable labour markets, a position that is not unproblematic when structural factors are taken into account. This article introduces an alternative perspective, the capability approach, to encourage debate about its value, and to begin to outline what it means for career counselling and development practice. An overview of the capability approach is provided, and the resonance between the concerns of the capability approach and those of career development practitioners will be highlighted. Key difficulties in applying the approach are identified before implications of the capability approach for practice are considered.