Undergraduates’ social-emotional learning and perceived future employability: mediation by career engagement

A rising unemployment rate worldwide is an essential concern not only for employees and business leaders but also for undergraduates in higher education. They need to prepare themselves for a highly dynamic and competitive business world. Thus, the present study aimed to examine whether undergraduates’ social and emotional learning skills indirectly shaped their perceived future employability via their career engagement. Five hundred seventy-three Turkish undergraduates participated in the research. Simple mediation analyses revealed that career engagement significantly mediated the relationship between social-emotional learning skills and perceived future employability. These findings are crucial for career counsellors and educational psychologists seeking to support undergraduates’ career development and employability processes.