Linkage Between Imposed Career Study, Career Planning, and Employability Perceptions Among Higher Education Students: An Empirical Investigation of Afghanistan

Delving into the health of the education system and unfolding the graduate labour market conditions, this study aims to address the limited empirical analysis of Kabul higher education students' approaches to career planning and perceptions of Afghanistan's labour market. This study has carried out an extensive theoretical and empirical analysis to help enhance the understanding of the impact imposed that can significantly impact students' sense of career planning and the labour market in the bigger picture. The study revealed evidence from a survey among university undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students, a total of two hundred students across various disciplines. The findings show that imposed educational streams negatively impact both students' career planning and the labour market. The study also demonstrates that students who reported positive perceptions of the labour market were the ones who had better control over their careers. There was also evidence that students who experienced less influence on their career choice positively perceived employability and the labour market. In contrast, students who reported negative perceptions of the labour market were seen to have the involvement of other factors while choosing their career field and could not plan their career correctly, resulting in their negative perception of the labour market. The study raises significant implications for higher education policy makers in identifying ways of improving students' transition to higher education and the realisation of the system's set to assist students in better planning their careers to better cope with today's challenging labour market