Systematic Literature Review of Students' perception of Employability Skills

ABSTRACT

CONTEXT Over the years, research investigating how engineering education contributes to the employability skills of students has led to the adoption of scenario-, problem- or project-based learning being implemented as effective methods for developing skills. Measuring student perception has emerged as an effective tool to gain insights into how changes to engineering curricula can contribute to various skills and attributes of engineering graduates. The COVID-19 pandemic has, however, disrupted teaching methods, making student engagement challenging. The effectiveness of teaching methods is dependent on the students' engagement level, which in turn translates into developing their employability skills. PURPOSE OR GOAL In order to pave the way for the post-pandemic approach towards improving the employability skills of engineers, it is important to gain a comprehensive understanding of the existing literature in this area of study. Thus, the aim of this study is to conduct a systematic literature review of undergraduate engineering students' perceptions of employability skills. APPROACH OR METHODOLOGY/METHODS Utilising the PRISMA protocol, a systematic review of the existing literature will be performed, looking at student perception of employability skills. The review will look at peer-reviewed research reporting on post-secondary engineering education in the last 20 years. Highly relevant papers will be chosen based on the protocol and reviewed. ACTUAL OUTCOMES Throughout the literature on this topic, a recurring theme is that employability skills are not well-defined, and a range of reference frameworks are used, such as accreditation requirements, 21st century skills and global engineer skills. The review found that the employers perceive that graduating engineers' non-technical skills are inadequate. In response, universities are constantly evolving their curricula and teaching methods to address this gap. Mismatches are identified in terms of the student perceptions of important employability skills and the perceptions of universities and industry employers. Internships, job placements, and problem- and project-based learning have found their place in helping undergraduate students to develop their skills. Suggestions for future work include a comparison with other professional degrees and how engineering education has deviated from these other degrees. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS/SUMMARY The effect of COVID-19 on engineering student's employability and how long it will persist is currently unknown. This study contributes to the understanding of student perceptions about employability skills before the pandemic to understand the state of play when the COVID-19 disruption to teaching and learning occurred. It adds to the growing body of knowledge on engineering education focussed on employability skills and will help develop this field progress as we emerge from the pandemic. Copyright © Karthikaeyan Chinnakannu Murthy and Tania Machet, 2021.