Curtailing the Gap Between Civil Engineering Curriculum and Competencies Required in the Industry

Abstract

For civil engineers to have a successful career in the industry, they need to equip themselves with a wide array of technical and professional skills. A noteworthy gap exists between the skills students perceive important, and the skills industry deems important. Consequently, engineers are struggling for jobs and the industry is facing shortage of skilled engineers. Therefore, it is crucial to minimize these gaps to improve the industry outcomes. A mixed method (including quantitative and qualitative) approach was used in this study. Using content analysis of previous literatures, the skills were grouped together in broader categories on the basis of similarities. A preliminary survey was conducted to identify the necessary technical and professional skills from the industry. Factor analysis was employed on questionnaire surveys containing 16 technical, and 15 professional competencies from students and industry professionals. The results were sorted according to their relative importance index. Students rated project planning & scheduling and contract management & administration, whereas professionals ranked understanding construction & shop drawings and project planning & scheduling as the top two most important technical skills. According to student’s decision making and critical thinking & problem solving, whereas according to industry professional’s work ethics and continuous learning were top two professional skills. The results indicate that both groups of participants agree on the most important professional skills but disagree on the important technical skills. This gap can be reduced or alleviated by updating the curriculum to what industry needs. By incorporating the industry highlighted skills in the curriculum and helping students understand the level of importance of these skills growth of engineers in their profession, and industry as a whole can be improved. This study can serve as a first step to updating the undergraduate civil engineering curriculum to a more industry friendly version. .