Soft skills that influence the employability of professional engineering graduates from a university in Northern Mexico

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to determine what soft skills most affect job employability from the perception of recent engineering graduates at a university in northeastern Mexico. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports that employers warn that professionals have poor levels of soft skill development and that university academic training does not meet the knowledge and functions required, causing low job employability. The methodological design of the present study is quantitative, cross-sectional, and non-experimental. A validated instrument is applied through an electronic form to a total of 170 graduates. The results reveal a strong correlation between problem solving, decision-making, and leadership, with the dependent variable labor employability. In conclusion, problem solving, decision-making, and leadership positively influence job employability.