Skills requirement by Industrial Engineering students during vacation work

Abstract

Engineering training should prepare students for industry work; hence, it is expected that the academic curriculum should be structured after the requirements of the industry. The objective of this research was to understand what Industrial Engineering (IE) skills are used in the industry by the university students during their vacation work. This may help in determining the level of emphasis placed on some of the skills with which students are imbued, and how soon the exposure to these skills should be during the training period. It was found out that the mostly used skills are the soft skills, and not the technical engineering skills imparted into the students. Moreover, even among the engineering skills used, most students make more extensive use of the basic engineering skills acquired earlier in their study years than the more advanced skills taught later in the Universities. The study indicates that it is important that the training of engineering students should place sufficient emphasis on teaching students on team dynamics and relationship management as this may be more central to their career, especially as they transition from student to working life.