This paper reflects the ambiguous concept of employability and its use as an instrument to fight against youth unemployment. Generally, this concept refers to educational capital which workers acquire to enhance their possibilities of being employed and productive, without taking into account factors, such as sex, nationality, the social class they belong to, or the flaws of the production system itself. The data presented in this paper evince the high levels of youth unemployment and the existing mismatch between the education system and the labour market. These circumstances are evidenced on the one hand by high levels of academic failure and on the other hand by the overqualification of this population in Spain, who are working in jobs below their level of educational achievement. In short, based on the descriptive data presented, the paper reflects how to make career and learning pathways more flexible, reduce the existing segmentation in both education and the labour market, as well as the need to adapt education to available occupations and diminish the dropout rate. (Contains 2 tables, 8 figures, and 2 footnotes.)