ENGINEERING GRADUATES’ PERCEPTION OF COMPETENCIES AND PREPARATION TO THE LABOR MARKET TRANSITION

Abstract

Current models of employability are rather broad and complex, including not only a set of skills as determinant factors in employability, but also a subjective dimension that considers individual self-beliefs and attitudes. Under this framework, the perception of competencies developed during Higher Education were explored. This study intended to understand how engineering graduates evaluate the competencies developed during higher education and how this relates with the perception of preparation to the labor market transition. For that purpose, a sample of 332 Portuguese senior students taking an engineering masters' degree filled a questionnaire. The obtained results pointed to (i) a lower evaluation concerning practical competencies comparing with other theoretical, transversal or employability competencies; (ii) practical competencies, together with communication, methodological and socioemotional competencies appear as the most important predictors of labor market transition. These findings enhance the importance of the integration of a stronger practical component in engineering curriculum as a way to better prepare graduates and to promote employability.