KEY GENERIC COMPETENCIES REQUIRED FOR ENGINEERING GRADUATES

In this study, we have investigated and identified the required generic competencies for new engineering graduates, based on local Saudi industry needs and requirements. Current statistics on the Saudi labour market show that most engineering jobs are taken by non-Saudi engineers who have become a more competent and less expensive human resource. Such a situation has created a real challenge for new Saudi engineers to compete without having a certain level of the required engineering competencies that satisfy employers. Data information were gathered by directly conducting a survey among differently involved parties such as major national companies, alumni, the Saudi Engineering Council, and professors and lecturers on different engineering academic programmes. The identified generic competencies were clustered and categorized to derive a final reference list of engineering graduate competencies. An analysis of the gathered information allowed us to highlight the importance of each competency as additional key information with which to design a competencies card with appropriate performance indicators. The identified generic competencies can be useful reference for curriculum designers in order to assign multiple performance indicators when assessing engineering programmes and their outcomes. Reducing the gap between the desired level of the required competencies and the actual outcomes level obtained from the academic programmes can be achieved by offering multiple additional industrial internships and short training programmes for students to take in the course of their undergraduate study