Employability Skills for

Engineers

Bala

Contents for discussion

Learning in the class room - concept

Limitations of academic curriculum
Concept vs. application
Use of concept in application

Contents for discussion

What do recruiters look for?
What is competency?
Basic skills required at the beginning
of ones career
What are employability skills?

Concept learning
Theory = Knowledge without
application = concept
Is the backbone for application
Not to be underestimated

Limitations of academic
curriculum
Engineering curriculum more
practical than other graduation
disciplines
More practical oriented
Still has limitations in terms of
numbers and available infrastructure

Limitations of academic
curriculum
Limitation on investment to make it
more relevant to current industrial
practices
Lack of conducive industry-education
inter-face in India
Academic syllabus not being dynamic
does not bring in changes as
frequently as required

Limitations of academic
curriculum
Very few of university mandatory
projects in 7th & 8th semesters
relevant to industry
In terms of their ready application to
industry in terms of current practices
and technology
Curriculum not research oriented

Concept vs. application

Employment is not given based on
students concept knowledge alone
Other important consideration is the
ability to apply conceptual knowledge to
practice
As evidenced by the quality of the
industrial project in the 7th & 8th semesters
Plus the performance in Aptitude test +
ability to answer questions in interview

Use of concept in
application
For application one requires
understanding of the theory involved
in the application
This is the same as the concept
Hence concept and application are
inter-dependent
They cannot exist without one
another just like grammar and
literature

What do recruiters look

for?
A combination of knowledge and
skills at the beginning
Consideration is that the engineering
graduates do not have work
experience
In short, relevant competency in any
candidate appearing before them

What is competency?
It is a combination of:
Attitude
Knowledge &
Skills

Usually referred to as ASK

How attitude is the prime influencer
in acquiring knowledge and skills

Basic competency required for

entry level jobs
Considering no work experience, less
skills and more knowledge
Ability to apply should be evident in
terms of:
Project work done in terms of quality
Ability to answer questions on project like:
Concepts involved
Relevance to the enterprise where project was
done
Area of application to the enterprise

Competency for entry

level jobs
Willingness to learn as evident from:
Co-curricular work undertaken
More than mandatory project work
undertaken
Any research initiatives

Hence attitude becomes the

foremost criterion
Interview questions are also directed
to this

Parameters in competency
for entry level jobs
Good theoretical knowledge as
expected from degree course
Knowledge initiative in the respective
field current industry practices
Some operational skills right from
Day One at the job at least the
basics

Competency for entry

level jobs
Other generic skills required:
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Computer skills
Report writing skills

Generic skills for

entry level jobs

Process orientation
Documentation
Analytical skills
Eye for details

Generic skills for

entry level jobs
Ability to follow-up
Ability to get job done
Ability to estimate correct duration
for a given job before commitment to
any schedule

Besides skills, others too

Personal discipline
Personal etiquette manners, courtesy
and behaviour
Positive attitude to learning
Ability to accept feedback and improve
Being open minded and not being rigid