The Occupational Efficacy (Self-Efficacy for Occupational Decision Making) Expectancy Scale, modified by Fu (2015), consists of 19 items and contains three constructs: self-assessment, planning and problem solving, and gathering work information. The scale was administered on a five-point Likert-type. Scores for each item were added to obtain the dimension score, and dimension scores were summed to obtain the total score. The internal consistency reliability of the scale was 0.912, and the internal consistency coefficients of the three dimensions reached 0.761, 0.818, and 0.827, respectively, which indicated that the scale had good reliability. Meanwhile, the validity test showed that the model fit was good, and the cumulative explanatory amount of the two factors was 50.74%, representing a good validity.

This study used the Employability Questionnaire for College Students developed by Yu, which contains eight dimensions of career identity, interpersonal relationship, optimism and cheerfulness, problem solving, social support, learning ability, teamwork, and network differences, with 36 questions in total, using a 5-point Likert scale (Yu, 2014). The employment score was the sum of scores of these eight subscales. The alpha coefficient of the full scale was 0.816, and the internal consistency coefficients of the eight dimensions reached 0.85, 0.84, 0.82, 0.83, 0.81, 0.79, 0.83, and 0.76, respectively, and the reliability of the questionnaire was good. The scale has been adopted by several empirical studies, and the scale data fit well, and the questionnaire has good structural validity.

This study used the Emotional Intelligence Scale developed by American psychologist Schutte, which contains 33 questions divided into four major dimensions: emotional perception dimension, regulation of self-emotion dimension, regulation of others emotion dimension, and emotional use dimension (Schutte et al., 1998). The employment score was the sum of scores of these four subscales. The internal consistency reliability of the scale was 0.876, indicating that the scale has high reliability and good credibility, and later scholars widely used the scale to measure, and its measurement results performed well and proved to have high empirical validity.

Two groups of confounders were considered in this study. The first group is basic demographic factors: gender, home location, major, grade and only child. The second group is other variables that may have an impact on risk employability, emotional intelligence or career decision-making self-efficacy, including student leader and off-campus internship.

Independent samples t-test or ANOVA was used to analyze the variance in the scores of demographic variables of emotional intelligence of higher vocational students. As shown in Table 1, there were significant differences (p < 0.05) between the variables of being a student leader, having an off-campus internship, and different home locations on the total and subscale scores of emotional intelligence of higher education students. Except for emotional use, there were significant differences in total emotional intelligence scores and the remaining three dimensions on the only child. There were no significant differences in all p-values greater than 0.05 for the total score of emotional intelligence and its dimensions scores on gender, major and family structure for senior students. Significant differences existed in the scores of students of different grades on the dimension of regulation of others’ emotions, and no significant differences existed on the rest of the dimensions.

Independent samples t-test or ANOVA was used to analyze the differences in the scores of demographic variables of career decision-making self-efficacy of senior vocational students. As shown in Table 2, there were significant differences (p < 0.05) in the total score and each dimension of career decision-making self-efficacy among senior students whether they were student leaders or not, whether they had off-campus internship experience or not, and different home locations. Except for the planning and problem solving dimensions, there were no significant differences between students of different genders on the other dimensions and total scores, while there were significant differences between students of different grades. There was no significant difference in the total score and subscale scores of career decision-making self-efficacy among students of different majors. Except for self-assessment, there were significant differences in the total scores and other dimensions of career decision-making self-efficacy of senior students on whether they were only children or not. There were significant differences between family structures in the scores of the dimension of gathering job information, and no significant differences in the rest of the dimensions and total scores.

Independent samples t-test or ANOVA was used to analyze the variance in the scores of demographic variables of employability of higher vocational students. As shown in Table 3, there were no significant differences in the total scores of employability and its other four dimensions in student cadres for higher vocational students, except for the four dimensions of career identity, interpersonal relationship, optimism and cheerfulness, and social support. There were significant differences between students with and without off-campus internship on the total score of employability and its dimensions. There were significant differences in interpersonal relationship, problem solving, social support, teamwork and total score of employability among students with different home locations. Significant differences were found in the occupational identity, interpersonal relationship, problem solving, social support, network difference dimensions and total scores of employability of senior students by gender, while no significant differences were found in the remaining three dimensions. There were no significant differences in students’ total scores of employability and its dimensions in terms of majors. There were significant differences in the total scores of employability and its 8 dimensions except for career identity among higher vocational students for only children, and the scores of employability of only children were significantly higher than those of non-only children. Except for interpersonal relationships, there was no significant difference in the total score of employability and its dimensions among students with different family structures. There were no significant differences in the seven dimensions of employability among students of different grades except for teamwork, while there was a significant level of difference in the total score of competency.

In this study, the theoretical model was constructed through a linear structural equation model, and the causal model was validated using AMOS software, and the results of the analysis were organized as shown in Figure 2.

In this study, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to study the causal relationships between variables. As shown in Table 5, in Model 1, when the impact of career decision-making self-perception on employability is examined separately, career decision-making self has a significant positive predictive effect on employability (β = 0.604, t = 12.288), so hypothesis H1 is tested. In the second model, career decision-making self has a significant positive predictive effect on emotional intelligence (β = 0.564, t = 19.891). Therefore, hypothesis H3 is established. When the indicator emotional intelligence is introduced into model three, emotional intelligence has a significant positive predictive effect on employability (β = 0.402, t = 7.065), and the impact of career decision-making self-fulfillment on employability still exists (β = 0.566, t = 12.288), therefore hypothesis H2. When emotional intelligence is added to the prediction of career decision-making self-actualization on employability, the effect of independent career decision-making self-perception on the dependent variable employability is still significant. However, the predictive power decreased (β coefficient decreased from 0.604, p < 0.001 to 0.566, p < 0.001). Emotional intelligence plays a partial role in the impact of career decision-making self on college students’ employability, which verifies hypothesis H4.

In AMOS, a sample size of 2000 was set, and a “bias-corrected nonparametric percentile” Bootstrap method with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was used. To analyze the mediating effect of emotional intelligence in the influence of career decision-making self-efficacy on employability.

As shown in Table 5, the 95% confidence interval for the indirect effect bias correction ranged from 0.173 to 0.282, which did not contain 0 and reached a significant level, so there was a mediating effect; the 95% confidence interval for the direct effect bias correction ranged from 0.487 to 0.640, which did not contain 0, so it was a partial mediating effect; the 95% confidence interval for the total effect bias correction ranged from 0.731 to The 95% confidence interval of the total effect bias correction ranged from 0.731 to 0.852, which did not contain 0, and was again verified as a partial mediation effect (Table 6).

The total scores of emotional intelligence and its dimensions were significantly higher among higher education students who had been student leaders than those who had not been student leaders, which is consistent with the findings of Côté’s study (Côté et al., 2010). Because good interpersonal relationships are a manifestation of competence, student cadres are generally more extroverted and can appreciate their own deficiencies in emotional intelligence in the context of practical activity experiences, which also enable student cadres to learn to get along with people and resolve conflicts with them when they undertake organizational and coordination work (Zhang, 2010). The total scores of emotional intelligence and its dimensions were significantly higher in higher education students with and without off-campus internship experience than in students without internship experience, indicating that good internship experience helps to improve students’ emotional intelligence. Huang found that there was a significant positive correlation between the presence or absence of internship experience and the level of emotional intelligence (Cook et al., 2011). In the internship process, higher vocational students need to face a complex and changing environment, complete a wide range of messy tasks, and deal with interdepartmental relationships. All of them lead students to use emotional intelligence to solve the problems that arise in the actual work. Higher vocational students from urban areas scored significantly higher on all dimensions of emotional intelligence than those from rural areas, which is consistent with the findings of Yiyi et al. (2022). It may be due to the fact that the development of urban and rural areas in China is still unbalanced, and urban cities are more economically developed, have more convenient transportation and higher living standards compared to rural areas, and urban students are in a prosperous living environment with more open horizons and better exercise opportunities, so their emotional intelligence levels are slightly higher than those of students from rural areas (Xue, 2021). Only children scored higher than non-only children on all dimensions of emotional intelligence and showed significant good performance except for the emotional use dimension, which is consistent with the results of Zhao et al. (2022). This is due to the fact that only children receive more attention and pampering during their growth, are nurtured and developed in all aspects, and are brave in expressing and communicating, so their emotional intelligence is slightly better than that of non-only children. There were no significant differences in the total emotional intelligence scores of higher education students and its dimensions in terms of gender, major, family structure and grade level, which is consistent with researchers (Zhang, 2010).

Student leaders’ scores on all dimensions of career decision-making self-efficacy were significantly higher than those of ordinary students, in line with the scholarly Pan’s study found consistent (Pan, 2022). It can be seen that the work of student cadres has enabled senior students to get a comprehensive exercise in their daily work and have a clearer self-concept of their work ability and career traits (Gu, 2022). Higher vocational students with off-campus internship experience also have higher career decision-making self-efficacy than those without internship experience, which is consistent with the view of scholar Liu Z. (2022). This is because in the fierce market competition, actual work experience can largely enhance students’ practical ability and complete the real transition from theory to practice. Higher vocational students with internship experience are better able to recognize the employment situation, have a clearer career plan, and therefore have higher career decision-making self-efficacy (Wang, 2021). In terms of home location, the scores of career decision-making self-efficacy of higher vocational students from urban areas were significantly higher than those from rural areas, which is consistent with Guo’s study (Guo, 2016). Urban higher vocational students are in an economically developed and materially rich living environment, and they have greater advantages in terms of comprehensive quality and social resources, and their self-efficacy is relatively higher (Chen et al., 2021). In terms of gender and major, there is no good significance of career decision-making self-efficacy in general, so neither gender nor major is an intrinsic factor affecting career decision-making self-efficacy, which is still consistent with the findings of scholar Wei (2017). The scores of all dimensions of career decision-making self-efficacy of only children are significantly higher than those of non-only children, which is consistent with the findings of Xing (2019). This is because only children are more concerned and nurtured by their parents from childhood and strive to develop their potential, which has an enthusiastic impact on students’ career unfolding (Tang et al., 2021). As for the grade level, there was a significant difference in students’ total career decision-making self-efficacy score and its 2 dimensions, and the overall score increased with grade level, indicating that students in higher grades tend to show higher career decision-making self-efficacy.

There was no significant difference in employability between student leaders and general students, but in specific dimensions, student leaders were significantly higher than general students in career identity, interpersonal relationship, optimism and social support dimensions. The reason for the difference may be that student cadres’ experience allows students to be trained in general quality and comprehensive ability, and they also have good interpersonal relationships with school teachers and other people, so they get stronger social support and show significant advantages in career identity. On the off-campus internship, the employability of higher vocational students showed significant levels, which is consistent with the study of Liu (2020). Internship is an important way to enhance the employability of higher vocational students, paving the way for later career development and making themselves clearer about their future development (Thi Ngoc Ha and Dakich, 2022). For the aspect of home location, urban students have significantly higher employability overall than rural students, which is consistent with the results obtained from Liu’s study (Liu, 2020). This is due to the fact that urban areas are richer in resources, students have a broader cognitive horizon, more social connections available, and access to better social support, which promotes better employability (Abd Majid et al., 2020). In terms of gender, male students have slightly higher total employability scores than female students and have significant advantages in career identity, interpersonal relationships, problem solving, social support, and network differences, indicating that gender differences still exist in China in the current society in the career field. There was no significant difference in students’ total score of employability and its dimensions in their majors, indicating that there was no significant effect of professional differences on employability and its dimensions among higher vocational students, which is consistent with the study of Zhang (2020). There were significant differences in the total scores of employability and its 8 dimensions except for career identity among senior vocational students with respect to only children, and the scores of employability of only children were significantly higher than those of non-only children. This indicates that only children can be nurtured by their parents more intently than non-only children, which allows them to develop and improve all aspects of their potential and thus enhance their employability (Meng, 2019). Lv concluded that family structure does not have a significant effect on the development of employability of higher education students, which is consistent with the results of this paper (Lv, 2012). There is a significant difference in the teamwork dimension of students’ employability in terms of grade level, and no significant difference in the remaining eight dimensions, while there is a significant level of difference in the total score of competency, with fluctuating changes in the overall score.

The results of this study showed that career decision-making self-efficacy of higher education students had a significant positive effect on employability. This is consistent with the findings of studies by Wang et al. (2016), Hu (2019). The researchers concluded that when college students have better career decision-making self-efficacy ability, their employability will be better, with a significant positive correlation. As a core variable in the job search process, career decision-making self-efficacy of college students can influence job search intention, effort level, etc., and has an important guiding role in career selection (Lee et al., 2022). Students with a stronger sense of career decision-making self-efficacy will actively engage in career planning and enhance their career decision-making self-efficacy, which can improve the employment difficulties of college students and enhance their confidence in career decision-making activities, thus improving their own employability.

The results of this study showed that emotional intelligence of higher education students had a significant positive effect on employability. She found that there is a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and employability (She and Hu, 2021). People with high emotional intelligence have better emotional control and interpersonal relationships, which are conducive to promoting the growth and success of college students and better serving society. It is essential to cultivate good emotional intelligence for a person’s career success. With a positive mindset, it is easy to stimulate creativity and potential (Jafri et al., 2016). Higher vocational students with high emotional intelligence have clear career plans, can make full use of multiple channels to obtain employment information, seize opportunities in the job search process and work hard for them. At the same time, they also have a certain level of stress tolerance, and can be optimistic in the face of setbacks, quickly adjust their emotions, reflect on the reasons for failure and improve in time (Sekreter, 2019).

This study explored the relationship between career decision-making self-efficacy and emotional intelligence of higher education students. The results showed that career decision-making self-efficacy of higher education students had a significant positive effect on emotional intelligence. This is in line with the findings of Hamzah and Angeli studies (Santos et al., 2018; Hamzah et al., 2021). Cultivating career decision-making self-efficacy in higher education students can enhance students’ self-knowledge, improve their action skills, and enhance their adaptability, and students with high career decision-making self-efficacy can effectively control their emotions, express themselves clearly and fluently, and establish harmonious interpersonal relationships.

This study shows that career decision-making self-efficacy can not only act directly on employability, but also indirectly through the mediating role of emotional intelligence. Students with high career decision-making self-efficacy usually have high emotional intelligence and good emotional quality, and this emotional intelligence can play a part in mediating the effect on employability. That is, career decision-making self-efficacy can have a positive effect on employability through good emotional intelligence.

Higher education institutions should cultivate the career decision-making self-efficacy of higher education students, and in education and training, they can offer more elective courses in various industry-related professions to find out where the interests of job-seeking lie, and at the same time improve students’ job-seeking skills in all aspects. Teachers should also often send positive and encouraging messages to students to improve their job search information and employment motivation, so as to enhance their career decision-making self-efficacy and reduce employment pressure.

Colleges and universities should offer courses on emotional intelligence education to help students systematically understand the connotation of emotional intelligence and the path to enhance it, to effectively enhance the confidence level, self-awareness and interpersonal communication and other emotional qualities of higher vocational students, to help students know themselves so as to make career plans and form good behavioral habits, and to provide powerful guidance for the overall development of moral, intellectual, physical, social and esthetic development and the enhancement of employability of higher vocational students.

Higher vocational institutions should pay attention to the core literacy of vocational skills of higher vocational students, design scientific and reasonable curriculum teaching, guide students to establish a healthy and correct employment concept, make students have a clear understanding of their professional knowledge, career concept and social needs, make solid efforts to learn professional knowledge, focus on the cultivation and accumulation of employability and enhance career awareness.

“Opportunity is reserved for those who are prepared,” higher vocational students should keep the drive to learn and not stop the pursuit and desire for knowledge. With real knowledge, they can adapt to many kinds of positions in the future and be well prepared for future career selection. The layoffs carried out by most enterprises have led to the inflow of some highly skilled employees into the talent market, which is undoubtedly a source of employment pressure for graduates, so any graduate should pay attention to the acquisition of knowledge and truly “live to learn.”

Knowing how to control your emotions is what makes you a person with high emotional intelligence, and controlling your emotions requires strong mental qualities. Students should have a correct understanding of their own value, actively develop their own potential, give full play to their subjective initiative, pay attention to their own emotional fluctuations, be the master of their emotions, not be swayed by their emotions, constantly enrich their spiritual world, and then enhance their anti-stress ability, improve students’ career decision-making self-efficacy, enhance their confidence in making career decisions, and promote self-development.