The objectives of this paper are to structure and discuss the main soft skills that have an impact o n the employability in the Engineering field, aiming to fill the gap between education and job market in the STEM field. A systematized literature review (SLR) on Humanities and Engineering Education of 2638 articles showed that the most important soft skills for the employability of engineers can be grouped into six main groups: Problem Solving and Critical Thinking, Communication, Team Work, Ethical Perspective, Emotional Intelligence and Creative Thinking. The definition and relation between these skills and Engineering work are explored within the present work, concluding with a reflection about fresh graduate Engineers and their readiness for the job market.
KeywordsEngineering EducationEmployability of the EngineerSoft Skill for Engineering
Ajit, V., & Deshmukh, P. B. (2013). Factors Impacting Employability Skills of Engineers. International Journal of Science and Research, 2, 30-32.
Andersen, A., & Hansen, J. (2002). Engineers of Tomorrow and beyond Knowledge, Insight and Skills Needed to Work across Borders. Age, 7, 1.
Barrera, A. (2017). Social Economy and Critical Thinking. Apontes for the Analysis of the Current Scenario. Labor and Sociedad, 29, 517-535.
Bates, G., Rixon, A., Carbone, A., & Pilgrim, C. (2019). Beyond Employability Skills: Developing Professional Purpose. Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 10, 7-26. https://doi.org/10.21153/jtlge2019vol10no1art794
Becker, F. S. (2006). Globalization, Curricula Reform and the Consequences for Engineers Working in an International Company. European Journal of Engineering Education, 31, 261-272. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043790600644749
Beever, J., & Brightman, A. O. (2016). Reflexive Principlism as an Effective Approach for Developing Ethical Reasoning in Engineering. Science and Engineering Ethics, 22, 275-291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-015-9633-5
Casner-Lotto, J., & Barrington, L. (2006). Are They Really Ready to Work? Employers’ Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century US Workforce.
Caten, C. S., Silva, D. S., Aguiar, R. B., Filho, L. C. P. S., & Huerta, J. M. P. (2019). Reshaping Engineering Learning to Promote Innovative Entrepreneurial Behavior. Brazilian Journal of Operations & Production Management, 16, 141-148. https://doi.org/10.14488/BJOPM.2019.v16.n1.a13
Chauí, M. (2011). Invitation to Philosophy (14th ed.). Sao Paulo: Attica.
Colby, A., & Sullivan, W. M. (2008). Ethics Teaching in Undergraduate Engineering Education. Journal of Engineering Education, 97, 327. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2008.tb00982.x
Compton, D. S. (2008). High Reliability Leadership: Developing Executive Leaders for High Reliability Organizations. 376f. Thesis (Doctorate), Ann Arbor: The Faculty of the School of Business of the George Washington University.
Conforto, E. C., Amaral, D. C., & Silva, S. L. (2011). Script for Systematic Literature Review: Application in Product Development and Project Management. In 8th Brazilian Congress of Product Development Management (CBGDP) (pp. 1-12). Porto Alegre: FAPESP.
Cotrim, G. (2002). Fundamentals of Philosophy: History and Major Themes (15th ed.). Sao Paulo: Saraiva.
Cropley, D. H. (2016). Creativity in Engineering. In Multidisciplinary Contributions to the Science of Creative Thinking (pp. 155-173). Singapore: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-618-8_10
Downey, G. L., Lucena, J., Moskal, B. M., Parkhurst, R., Bigley, T., Hays, C., Jesiek, B. K., Kelly, L., Miller, J., Ruff, S., Lehr, J. L., & Belo, A. N. (2006). The Globally Competent Engineer: Working Effectively with People Who Define Problems Differently. Journal of Engineering Education, 95, 107-122. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2006.tb00883.x
Fletcher, A. J., Sharif, A. W. A., & Haw, M. D. (2016). Using the Perceptions of Chemical Engineering Students and Graduates to Develop Employability Skills. Education for Chemical Engineers, 18, 11-25.
Hansen, S. (2004). The Supervisor in the Project-Organized Group Work Should Participate in Developing the Students’ Project Competencies. European Journal of Engineering Education, 29, 451-459. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043790310001658596
Hasanah, M., & Surya, E. (2017). Differences in the Abilities of Creative Thinking and Problem Solving of Students in Mathematics by Using Cooperative Learning and Learning of Problem Solving. International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR), 34, 286-299.
Itani, M., & Srour, I. (2015). Engineering Students’ Perceptions of Soft Skills, Industry Expectations, and Career Aspirations. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 142, Article ID: 04015005. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000247
Jesiek, B. K., Borrego, M., & Beddoes, K. (2010). Advancing Global Capacity for Engineering Education Research (AGCEER): Relating Research to Practice, Policy, and Industry. Journal of Engineering Education, 99, 107-119. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2010.tb01048.x
Jiusto, S., & Dibiasio, D. (2006). Experiential Learning Environments: Do They Prepare Our Students to Be Self Directed, Life Long Learners? Journal of Engineering Education, 95, 195-204. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2006.tb00892.x
Jones, S. A., Michelfelder, D., & Nair, I. (2017). Engineering Managers and Sustainable Systems: The Need for and Challenges of Using an Ethical Framework for Transformative Leadership. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140, 205-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.02.009
Kamin, M. (2013). Soft Skills Revolution: A Guide for Connecting with Compassion for Trainers, Teams, and Leaders. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Kasamoto, N. H. (2000). A Course on Engineering Leadership. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 126, 134-135. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1052-3928(2000)126:3(134)
Klafke, P. A. (2005). Bases for Continued Training of Product Development Engineer Aiming at Technological Innovation. 175 f. Dissertation (Master), Santa Maria, CA: Postgraduate Program in Production Engineering, Federal University of Santa Maria.
Koen, P. A., & Kohli, P. (1998). ABET 2000: What Are the Most Important Criteria to the Supervisors of New Engineering Undergraduates. Age, 3, 2.
Kulkarni, V. A., Bewoor, A. K., Malathi, P., & Balapgol, B. S. (2017). Employability Skill Matrix for Engineering Graduates of Tier-II Institutes.
Lathem, S. A., Neumann, M. D., & Hayden, N. (2011). The Socially Responsible Engineer: Assessing Student Attitudes of Roles and Responsibilities. Journal of Engineering Education, 100, 444-474. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2011.tb00022.x
Li, J., & Fu, S. (2012). A Systematic Approach to Engineering Ethics Education. Science and Engineering Ethics, 18, 339-349. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-010-9249-8
Llamas, B., Gracia, M. D. S., Mazadiego, L. F., Pous, J., & Alonso, J. (2019). Assessing Transversal Competences as Decisive for Project Management. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 31, 125-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2018.11.009
Lyman, F. A. (2002). Humanities and Social Sciences in Engineering Education-Postwar to Postmodern and Beyond. In Technology and Society, Proceedings. International Symposium on IEEE (pp. 73-81). New York: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Marrocu, E., & Paci, R. (2012). Education or Creativity: What Matters Most for Economic Performance? Economic Geography, 88, 369-401. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-8287.2012.01161.x
May, I. L., & Deckker, E. (2009). Reducing the Risk of Failure by Better Training and Education. Engineering Failure Analysis, 16, 1153-1162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2008.07.006
Mcaloone, T. C. (2007). A Competence-Based Approach to Sustainable Innovation Teaching: Experiences within a New Engineering Program. Journal of Mechanical Design, 129, 769-778. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2723806
Meireles, M. C., & Bonifácio, B. (2015). Use of Agile Methods and Problem-Based Learning in Software Engineering Teaching: An Experience Report. In 8th Brazilian Product Development Management Congress (pp. 180-189). Cairó: IFRN.
Monarch Institute (2015). http://www.monarch.edu.au
O’neal, J. B. (1990). The Humanities and Their Effect on Engineering Education. IEEE Communications Magazine, 28, 30-35. https://doi.org/10.1109/35.61718
OECD (2015). Skills for Social Progress: The Power of Social and Emotional Skills. OECD Skills Studies. Paris: OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264226159-en
OECD (2016a). Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skills. OECD Skills Studies. Paris: OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264258051-en
OECD (2016b). The Survey of Adult Skills: Reader’s Companion (2nd ed.). OECD Skills Studies. Paris: OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264258075-en
Pagani, R. N., Kovaleski, J. L., & Resende, L. M. (2015). MethodiOrdinatio: A Proposed Methodology to Select and Rank Relevant Scientific Papers Encompassing the Impact Factor, Number of Citation, and Year of Publication. Scientometrics, 105, 2109-2135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-015-1744-x
Passino, K. M. (2009). Educating the Humanitarian Engineer. Science and Engineering Ethics, 15, 577. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-009-9184-8
Pereira, O. P., & Costa, C. A. A. T. (2017). The Importance of Soft Skills in the University Academic Curriculum: The Perceptions of the Students in the New Society of Knowledge. International Journal of Business and Social Research, 7, 25-34. https://doi.org/10.18533/ijbsr.v7i6.1052
Perkins, C. E. (2001). Ad Hoc Networking. Reading, PA: Addison-Wesley.
Petrides, K. V., Mikolajczak, M., Mavroveli, S., Sanchez Ruiz, M. J., Furnham, A., & Pérez González, J. C. (2016). Developments in Trait Emotional Intelligence Research. Emotion Review, 8, 335-341. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073916650493
Ríos Carmenado, I. L., López, F. R., & García, C. P. (2015). Promoting Professional Project Management Skills in Engineering Higher Education: Project-Based Learning (PBL) Strategy. International Journal of Engineering Education, 31, 1-15.
Rondon, R. (2016). Higher Education and Work: The “One Dimensionality” of Discourse. Present Time Bulletin No. 11.
Rugarcia, A., Felder, R. M., Woods, D. R., & Stice, J. E. (2005). The Future of Engineering Education I. A Vision for a New Century. Chemical Engineering Education, 34, 16-25.
Schneider, L., Günther, J., & Brandenburg, B. (2010). Innovation and Skills from a Sectoral Perspective: A Linked Employer-Employee Analysis. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 19, 185-202. https://doi.org/10.1080/10438590902872887
Silva, D. A., Machado, P. L., Coelho, V. C. G., Barbosa, R. V., Mendonca, F. L. L., Santos, D. P., & Júnior, R. T. S. (2019). Production of Employability Indicators Based on Big Data Mining Techniques and Business Intelligence. Social Inclusion, 12, 141-155. http://revista.ibict.br/inclusao/article/view/4670
Thibault, R. A., Hivon, R., Lheureux, D., & Boutin, N. (2002). The Development of the Competencies Linked to the Human Dimension of Engineering. Age, 7, 1.
Vasconcelos, J. A. (2018). Reflections. Philosophy and Daily Life. Sao Paulo: Publisher SM.
Vasko, T. J., Al-Masoud, N., & Baumann, P. F. (2011). Assessment of Soft-Skills Program Learning Outcomes Using Engineering Courses. In Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference. Washington DC: American Society for Engineering Education.
Veiga, S. L. S. G. E. (2017). The Soft Skills of College Finalists: Aligning or Gaping with the Job Market? 148f. Doctoral Thesis, Lisbon.
Zaharim, A., Yusoff, Y. M., Zaidi, M., & Mohamed, A. (2009). Engineering Employability Skills Required by Employers in Asia. In Proceedings of the 6th WSEAS International Conference on Engineering Education (pp. 195-201). Rodos Island: WSEAS.