A critical examination of the use of ‘capitals approach’ in graduate employability research

This paper addresses the increasing use of a ‘capitals approach’ in research into graduate employability in higher education. Bourdieu’s ‘social/cultural capital’ has become supplemented by the coining of a range of other forms of capital, the meanings of which are often inadequately defined. Informed by conceptualisations of ‘capital’ in the work of Bourdieu and Marx, a critical examination of the use of ‘capital’ approaches in graduate employability research is developed, especially with the most influential terms of social and cultural capitals. It is found that the term ‘capital’ is largely under-theorized in these extended forms and is frequently taken for granted as any property or resource that provides competitive advantage in accessing the labor market. Although intended to provide a more comprehensive understanding of graduate employability than the skills approach, the capitals approach remains fundamentally individualistic, providing some but limited understanding of the complex process of transition between higher education and the labour market in different contexts. Conceptual/theoretical frameworks that recognise key sociological approaches to ‘distribution’–of wealth, jobs, power, etc.–and its complexity are needed in future research.