Identification of competencies required by engineers graduating in Australia

To inform continuous improvement of engineering education, this study asks, "What are the generic engineering competencies that engineers graduating in Australia require?" Competencies that were likely to be important to engineering work were identified from a broad range of literature. These were rated by 300 "established engineers" for importance to doing their jobs well. The study is the first large scale quantitative Australian study, across all engineering disciplines, to focus on established engineers rather than graduates. The engineers perceived technical, non-technical and attitudinal competencies as important. This is consistent with large scale studies in the US and Europe, and small scale studies in Australia. The results support continued expansion of curricula and diversification of pedagogies.