In recent years, an increasing number of job vacancies and a severe shortage of skilled workers have been observed in many occupational fields in most industrialized countries. While these developments have affected some sectors more than others, for example healthcare, they are prevalent in highly technological occupations across sectors. For companies, recruiting and retaining well-trained workers has become a major challenge that is expected to continue in the foreseeable future.
In research on career development, job retainment, and vocational education and training (VET), professional and vocational identification processes and identity development have proven to be key to forming a strong commitment to a profession and/or employer and to lead to better performance and satisfaction at work, resulting in fewer resignations. Empirical findings indicate that professional and vocational identification processes and identity development can be supported in experienced workers, novice workers, and students in
vocational training programs. However, little is known about the conditions necessary for either explicitly promoting professional identification and identity development or how to provide adequate space for their development at different career stages (e.g., apprenticeship, professional development in mid-career, re-education, or career transitions).
In this Research Topic, we aim to provide an overview of theoretical approaches to, and empirical research on, professional identity and identification development in different countries, in a variety of professions, and across career stages.
We seek a broad spectrum of contributions in terms of content and methodology, particularly the following:
• theory-based and systematic analyses of various approaches to the phenomena of identity, identification, identity development, and stages of identification;
• empirical analyses of professional identity and identification and their development;
and
• theoretical and empirical identification of factors and/or interventions supporting professional identity and the development of identification.
In recent years, an increasing number of job vacancies and a severe shortage of skilled workers have been observed in many occupational fields in most industrialized countries. While these developments have affected some sectors more than others, for example healthcare, they are prevalent in highly technological occupations across sectors. For companies, recruiting and retaining well-trained workers has become a major challenge that is expected to continue in the foreseeable future.
In research on career development, job retainment, and vocational education and training (VET), professional and vocational identification processes and identity development have proven to be key to forming a strong commitment to a profession and/or employer and to lead to better performance and satisfaction at work, resulting in fewer resignations. Empirical findings indicate that professional and vocational identification processes and identity development can be supported in experienced workers, novice workers, and students in
vocational training programs. However, little is known about the conditions necessary for either explicitly promoting professional identification and identity development or how to provide adequate space for their development at different career stages (e.g., apprenticeship, professional development in mid-career, re-education, or career transitions).
In this Research Topic, we aim to provide an overview of theoretical approaches to, and empirical research on, professional identity and identification development in different countries, in a variety of professions, and across career stages.
We seek a broad spectrum of contributions in terms of content and methodology, particularly the following:
• theory-based and systematic analyses of various approaches to the phenomena of identity, identification, identity development, and stages of identification;
• empirical analyses of professional identity and identification and their development;
and
• theoretical and empirical identification of factors and/or interventions supporting professional identity and the development of identification.
