This paper explores the potential benefits of education about intercultural issues for improving a student’s future job employability. From the perspective of discourse theory, both job employability and intercultural competence as job qualifications may be taken as discursive constructions. This paper delineates understandings of these concepts from the perspective of several social groups concerned, such as European politics, research on human resource management, students and graduates as well as employers. Considering mechanisms from discourse theory, this paper pleads for a growing awareness of constructivist processes involved as a sound basis for an adequate form of intercultural competence enhancing people’s employability.

Keywords: employability; intercultural competence; discourse analysis; social construction