The impact of human capital on employment quality: a scoping review

With accelerated globalization and technological advancement, the labor market is undergoing profound transformations, necessitating increasingly advanced skills and knowledge from workers. Human capital refers to productive resources developed through individuals' education, training, experience, and skill acquisition, which significantly enhance a worker's value and productivity in the labor market. Employment quality is an important indicator of workers' employment status. This study aims to examine the impact of human capital on employment quality and clarify the measurement dimensions and elements of both. This study adopts a scoping review methodology based on Arksey & O'Malley's study, five-stage framework, with analysis following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Data were retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), and ERIC; ultimately, 30 studies meeting the inclusion criteria were selected for analysis. Existing literature primarily explores the relationship between human capital and employment quality, but comprehensive reviews in this field remain limited. This scoping review systematically synthesizes relevant studies from the past five years to address theoretical and empirical gaps, examining dimensions of human capital and employment quality, target group diversity, and geographic regions. It deepens understanding of their relationship and provides targeted practical insights for policymakers, educators, and employers.