Providing Built Environment Students with the Necessary Skills for Employment: Finding the Required Soft Skills

Abstract

As the costs of education, class sizes, and competition in a post-recession work force grow, universities will explore the ways in which students may graduate with high opportunities for employment in their chosen field. Students in the Built Environment (B.E.) are graduating from accredited programs, but what skills beyond technical understanding do employers wish to have in their entry level employees? A survey of 8124 respondents of employers, alum, faculty and students allowed these stakeholders to rank order seven soft skills and seven characteristics within each soft skill. This study explores the ways in which the B.E. field ranks the skills and characteristics in comparison to seven other professional fields. The B.E. respondents rank order the soft skills as: communication, decision-making, self-management, experiences, teamwork, professionalism, and leadership. Utilizing ordinal regression, it was found that B.E. respondents rank creative solutions, applying technology, cross disciplinary and international experiences as more important than other fields. Many of the differences are attributed to the need for those in the built environment to think creatively and work collaboratively. The findings can inform educational curriculum to match soft skill training with the professional path of their students.