DECODING THE SKILL PUZZLE: AN INVESTIGATION OF COMPETENCy PROFILES OF RECENT GRADUATES IN ENGINEERING

As engineers play a central role in solutions for holistic sustainability, it is pivotal to ensure that our engineering graduates enter their careers with dynamic competency profiles - where core engineering skills are integrated with generic and value-based skills in a synergistic way. At present, the graduate competency discourse is driven by employers’ and stakeholders’ perspectives, thus overlooking those of recent graduates. In this study, we adopted a data-driven approach to study national survey data on recent graduates’ (n=1976) perceptions on the importance thirty key competencies and the patterns underlying those perceptions. Our quantitative analysis revealed that while graduates perceive a variety of competencies as important within the first year of graduation, these competencies form five unique profiles where foundational and organizational skills are perceived as most important. Furthermore, we uncovered that graduates’ perceptions on these competencies are shaped by two key dimensions: generic versus discipline-specific skills, and analytical versus holistic thinking. Our results provide foundational insights for both educators and employers to enhance their collaborative efforts in supporting students’ transition from studies to working life. Particularly, by adopting experiential learning pedagogies and providing mentoring, there is an opportunity to leverage graduates’ competencies and novel insights for the benefit of the industry and society.