Career Adabilities as Predictors of Youth Leadership in the Modern Era: A Gender Perspective

Rapid socio-economic change, job digitalization, and labor market uncertainty require vocational youth to possess not only career readiness but also adaptive leadership capacity. Career adaptability, as a key construct in Career Construction Theory, has been widely linked to job readiness and well-being; however, its role in predicting youth leadership, particularly in vocational education and from a gender perspective, remains underexplored. This study hypothesized that career adaptability comprising career concern, control, curiosity, and confidence positively predicts youth leadership among vocational school students. Using a quantitative correlational design, data were collected from 135 Grade XI students at vocational high school 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya through the Indonesian version of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (ID-CAAS) and a youth leadership scale, with proportional stratified random sampling. Descriptive analysis showed that students’ career adaptability was generally high (M = 87.64), with most students in the medium to high categories. Gender differences were significant for career adaptability but not for youth leadership. Correlation analysis indicated a positive but non-significant relationship between career adaptability and youth leadership (r = 0.216, p > 0.05). However, regression analysis revealed that career adaptability significantly predicted youth leadership (R² = 0.48), with career concern and career confidence as the strongest predictors. These findings highlight the importance of career adaptability as a strategic resource for strengthening youth leadership development in vocational education.