'Employability in context': The importance of considering contextual factors in reimagining employability through Australian student mobility to the Indo-Pacific region

Australia has shifted its student mobility agenda since 2014 with a commitment to see learning abroad in the Indo-Pacific region, rather than in traditional destinations such as anglophone countries, as a 'rite of passage' for Australian students' future life and career. While there has been rich literature on the impact of outbound student mobility from Australia to anglophone countries, critical inquiry is warranted regarding how Australian students' learning abroad in the Indo-Pacific affects their employability and career directions. This article responds to this paucity in the literature. It is derived from a larger research project, including a survey of 1,362 New Colombo Plan alumni. Unlike dominant conceptualisations of employability focusing largely on the role of disciplinary knowledge and soft skills, this study found affording different perspectives, connections and opportunities and the increased knowledge about the Indo-Pacific have been critical in shaping Australian students' employability and career orientations. The findings of this study provide the empirical base for the development of the concept, 'employability in context', which underscores the importance of moving beyond the conventional discourse about employability and taking into account the contextual factors in conceptualising employability.