Career Adaptability for Sustainable Workforce Development: A Systematic Review in Vocational Education

Vocational students’ careers are a progressively relevant issue and are extensively explored by researchers from numerous countries. In the context of global transformation, rapid job growth and career adaptability are required to overcome the challenges of unemployment. Vocational education fundamentally aims to prepare individuals to be competent in specific jobs and economically successful. Nevertheless, its effectiveness in encouraging students’ career development needs to be explored further to determine its overall impact. This review was conducted systematically using the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method with the PRISMA guide and synthesized 15 Scopus-indexed journals to analyze career adaptability in the context of sustainable workforce development in vocational education. This study identified five main findings: (1) the concept of career adaptability, (2) career adaptability in TVET, (3) the importance of career adaptability for workers, (4) career adaptability for students, and (5) the sustainable workforce framework. The findings of the study indicate that career adaptability can not only foster students’ readiness to work but also contribute to increasing overall economic competitiveness. Career adaptability is essential for sustainable employment, as it enhances job satisfaction and resilience, influenced by professional identity, self-efficacy, and effective educational interventions like work-based learning programs. The policy implications of these findings emphasize the significance of multidisciplinary collaboration between educational institutions, government, and industry to strengthen the relevance of vocational education to the changing dynamics of the labor market. This study provides valuable insights for stakeholders and practitioners in designing strategies to improve students’ career adaptability so that graduates can succeed in a competitive workforce and contribute to sustainable economic development.