How to Assess Generic Competencies: From Sustainable Development Needs among Engineering Graduates in Industry

Tianzuo Yu, Weiwei Shang, Shaoxue Liu and Jiabin Zhu
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Tianzuo Yu: School of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Weiwei Shang: School of Marxism, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
Shaoxue Liu: School of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Jiabin Zhu: School of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 15, 1-17

Abstract: Achieving many of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals requires the active contribution of skilled engineers. Globally, however, there appears to be a mismatch between the sustainable competencies that engineering graduates possess and those required by industry. Closing this gap requires a reliable and valid means of establishing which competencies are of greatest importance to engineering practitioners. In this research, we developed a model of generic engineering competency and designed a scale comprising 55 skills in total. This instrument was then used to survey two samples of engineering graduates working in the Chinese industry, with 746 in the first round of surveys, and 1183 in the second. Using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), seven subscales were extracted from the data: (1) leadership, (2) engineering design, (3) professionalism, (4) problem solving, (5) lifelong learning, (6) technical theory, and (7) communication. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) demonstrated that the total number of generic engineering competencies was represented by a second-order, single-factor model that adequately fitted the data. Further, the Cronbach’s alpha values and composite reliability of the scale indicate its reliability. Overall, the evidence shows that the instrument offers a valid and reliable means of researching and assessing engineering education practices.

Keywords: generic competencies; engineering graduates; needs assessment; questionnaire development; instruments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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