Background: To prepare engineers who can address complex sociotechnical problems, a deep understanding of engineers' complex problem-solving approaches is needed. Purpose/Hypothesis: This study operationalizes comprehensive systems thinking as an analysis framework that attends to aspects of engineering work and relationships among those aspects.…

The problem addressed in this study is that the performance of biomedical (BioMed) equipment technician (BMET) graduates from online programs is inferior to that of graduates from traditional vocational institutions. The purpose of this qualitative Delphi study was to build consensus among a panel of BioMed career field experts on key performance…

Professional skills have long been perceived as lacking in junior engineers. Adopting a social realist theoretical framework of knowledge in practice, a hypothesis-based survey study of early career engineers' perceptions of engineering expertise was conducted. It investigated a professional skills readiness difference between initial career…

The pace of economic and technological change is accelerating, creating both challenges and opportunities for businesses, higher education institutions, and learners. To support higher education, business, nonprofit, and government leaders in achieving that vision, the Business Higher Education Forum (BHEF) conducted its first annual State of…

Contribution: This article provides an examination of changes in first-year engineering students' perceptions of the role of an engineer after completing the Engineers Without Borders Challenge. Background: Essential pre- and post-comparisons missing in existing studies on the Challenge are provided, as well as comparison to other first-year…

The purpose of this study was to explore automotive technician and automotive technician educator's obstacles and expectations they faced during their educational and occupational endeavors. Constructivism and social constructivism were used as theoretical frameworks. Autoethnography was the selected qualitative research method. Using an…

Internationally, challenges were raised towards engineering education concerning the industry's widespread questioning of the lack of practical skills of engineering graduates. Scholars in engineering educational research have tried to better understand professional engineers' practices so as to inform engineering education. Concerning the lack of…

It is recognised that engineers end up in a wide variety of engineering positions and that the importance of professional competencies might vary accordingly. However, most studies regarding professional competencies, employability or career guidance fail to address this variety in professional roles. This systematic literature review aims to…

Community colleges are the leader in facilitating career and technical education (CTE) and workforce development (WD) programs. However, employers who hire recent graduates of these programs question the quality of the education provided. This qualitative study used a focus group comprised of manufacturing and engineering professionals in Florida…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine whether satisfaction of employers with skill competencies of fresh engineering graduates (EGs) in India is impacted by their expectations and perceptions. Applying Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT), the authors have also proposed and tested whether such effects on employers' satisfaction are…

Employers are increasingly selecting and developing employees based on skills rather than qualifications. Governments now have a growing focus on skilling, reskilling and upskilling the workforce through skills-based development rather than qualifications as a way of improving productivity. Both these changes are leading to a much stronger…

The world is rapidly changing, and the systemic shifts have the potential to affect the nature of work. To prepare the workforce, it is crucial to develop the skills that will be necessary for the unpredictable landscape of the future. Before these skills can be developed, however, they have to be identified and quantified through some form of…

The Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior (CETYS University) is a private institution established in 1961 in Baja California, Mexico under the auspices of a group of visionary entrepreneurs committed to education. CETYS Engineering recognized in the spring of 2016 that it needed a formal organization to provide third-party, external feedback for…

Where do workers with Higher Education (HE) degrees develop their work skills? Although few would expect these to be developed in HE exclusively, there exists an assumption that the core skills of those working in graduate occupations are predominantly formed at HE. This article examines how within four graduate occupations, employers and workers…

This study examined how a technical college can best meet the needs of engineering technology-based employers to address the current workforce gap. The study also explored what engineering technology-based employers see as the largest skills gaps in the current workforce, as well as how a technical college can address the concerns. Using a…