Personal Skills in Chemical Engineering Graduates. The Development of Skills Within Degree Programmes to Meet the Needs of Employers

Abstract

'Transferable' (or 'personal') skills are defined. There is good agreement internationally that the five key skills for chemical engineering graduates are: communications; teamworking; problem solving; numeracy and IT skills; self-learning. It is shown, with some specific examples, that there are ample and varied opportunities to develop these skills within chemical engineering programmes. In order to identify whether the skills possessed by new chemical engineering graduates match the requirements of employers, two recent comprehensive surveys are analysed, including a major survey of chemical engineering graduates with a few years in employment. The graduates assessed their own skills on graduation versus the importance of these skills in employment. In all except two of the 26 skills categories that were identified, there was a perceived 'skills deficit' on entering employment. The significance of these results is analysed, leading to some specific recommendations for the content of chemical engineering programmes. © 2006 The Institution of Chemical Engineers.