Comprehending the role of soft skills in current work scenarios in the engineering domain
Abstract
Purpose
To investigate the transformative impact of soft skills on the career pathways of experts and students in the engineering domain.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a comprehensive approach, combining a review of existing literature with primary data to analyse quantitative and qualitative empirical investigations. Data from 40 participants, who are engineering students and professionals, is analysed using descriptive statistics and advanced software tools like ATLAS.ti and Jamovi.
Findings
The findings underscore the indispensable nature of soft skills in elevating employability, emphasising the urgent need for mandatory soft skills education for engineering students and professionals. The research identifies the top five soft skills engineers need: communication, teamwork, time management, leadership and problem-solving.
Practical implications
The research contributes to understanding soft skills’ pivotal role in engineering professions, providing valuable insights for professionals and organisations aiming to enhance performance and competitiveness in the industry. The study advocates for a holistic approach that recognises the symbiotic relationship between technical proficiency and soft skills in shaping the success of engineering graduates in the 21st-century workforce.
Originality/value
The study recognises the current job market demands and asserts that engineers must combine technical expertise with soft skills to succeed in the technology-driven yet people-centric engineering profession.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The research for this paper was undertaken as part of my PhD at Lovely Professional University, Punjab, and benefited from supervisory input from Dr Shivani Dhand. I also thank Dr Mahender Singh Kaswan for giving valuable feedback on this paper. I am also grateful for the generous comments and constructive feedback I received on previous versions of this paper, which have undoubtedly improved its arguments. All remaining mistakes and omissions are my responsibility.
Citation
Pandey, A., Dhand, S., Kaswan, M.S., Chhibber, P., Garza-Reyes, J.A. and Manzoor, M. (2024), "Comprehending the role of soft skills in current work scenarios in the engineering domain", The TQM Journal, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-05-2024-0184
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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