Opportunities for the development of professional skills for undergraduate civil and environmental engineers

ABSTRACT

Employability and skills development are contemporary issues in higher education. For vocational-professional disciplines, such as engineering, the signature pedagogy directs teaching and learning towards acquiring scientific knowledge. Engineering employers have called for graduates to be more work-ready and trained in team-working, communication and other professional skills. These skills can be developed and assessed within curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular settings. We consider how a sample of undergraduate civil engineers (N = 58) perceive the contribution of the above activities on the development of six professional skills (Problem-solving; Planning; Leadership; Team-working; Self-confidence; Resilience). Embedding these skills within curricular activities offers the greatest potential for helping all students improve their employment prospects. Finally, we make suggestions for improving the deployment of professional skills in our four undergraduate programmes, and higher education institutions in general.

KEYWORDS:

• Employability
• professional skills
• civil engineers
• environmental engineers
• curricular
• co-curricular
• extra-curricular

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mike Murray

Mike Murray is Senior Teaching Fellow in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. Mike is Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and was awarded best Teacher in the Faculty of Engineering (2014); Most Innovative University Teacher (2018) at the University Teaching Excellence awards, and winner of the Faculty of Engineering Excellence in Supporting Students (2021) award. He has contributed to journals such as Teaching in Higher Education, Higher Education Pedagogies, and Industry and Higher Education.

Stella Pytharouli

Stella Pytharouli is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE) at the University of Strathclyde. Stella obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education in 2011. She was the Year Adviser of Studies in CEE for Year 1 in 2010-2011, Year 4 in 2011–2015 and Year 2 of the undergraduate degree programme in 2015–2019.

John Douglas

John Douglas is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. John is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education in 2018. He is the Department’s international exchange coordinator.