Individual stories of agency: an exploratory study into the pandemic impact on students' employability skills

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students' employability skills and give insights into preparation for future crises that may happen. Design/methodology/approach Employing an interpretative phenomenological approach with the frame of social cognitive theory, the current study examined the changes in environmental, behavioral and personal elements of human functioning for employability skills being affected by the conditions during the pandemic. Findings Findings based on ten in-depth semi-structured interviews with students at universities in Vietnam highlighted that the global pandemic performed as both challenge and an opportunity for employability skills development, yet the extent to which the students can benefit from the new studying conditions attributed to each individual's initiatives in taking advantages of resources and acting against difficulties. Originality/value Whether the pandemic became a hindrance or a motivation for students' employability skills to develop and whether students effectively utilized an agency to overcome challenges and improved their skills after the pandemic have not yet been investigated. This study added to the body of literature regarding self-regulated learners by demonstrating agency in the learning process as well as how to manage careers and improve employability skills by making use of resources in disconnected settings.