Psychometric Properties of the Korean Employability Skills Assessment and Korean Work Ethic for Gender and Generations

The Employability Skills Assessment (ESA) was translated into Korean (KESA) and the construct validity and reliabilities of the KESA were examined to provide Koreans with a scientific research-based work ethic measure. A total of 896 Korean Baby Boomers (1955-1963), Generation X (1964-1981) and Millennials (1982-1999) provided data. Work ethic was compared by gender and generations. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggested four dimensions of the KESA and were labeled as (initiative), (interpersonal skills), (dependability) and (Thoughtfulness). Reliability coefficients of each factor of the KESA ranged from .68 to .80. The results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in the four dimensions of the KESA based on gender and no interaction effects existed between gender and generations. However, there were statistically significant differences for generations in (initiative) and (dependability).