Employers’ Needs for Employability Skills of Engineering Graduates in Indonesia

Abstract

Employers hire people with the technical or work-specific skills required to do the job. But they’re also looking for an additional set of skills that they often consider just as important—employability skills. This study was conducted to examine the employer’s needs about the employability skills of engineering graduates in Indonesia. Data obtained by examining 250 job advertisements from companies that need workers in the fields of engineering, including electrical engineering, mechanical/automotive engineering, chemical engineering, industrial engineering, and oil/gas engineering. Selected companies are companies operating in Indonesia that provide salary above the minimum wage. The results of the study showed no statistically significant difference in the employability skills needs among the various types of engineering fields. The study finds that beyond the work-specific skills, foreign languages (especially English), communications, and computer/ICT skills was the skills of the most expected by employers for graduates of engineering colleges/schools in Indonesia. The study also found that the ability to use MS Office and Autocad was the most expected computer/ICT skills.