Abstract:

There is a contradiction between technological development and the place of engineers' professions in modern society. The development of science and technology is on the top, and the prestige of the engineering profession decreases.

Professional community actively discusses the need to establish a practice-oriented training system, and professional interactions system between lecturers and engineers.

We conduct a sociological survey of the main Sverdlovsk region’s stakeholders, such as engineers, heads of R&D centers, heads of Science&Technology divisions at the big industrial enterprises, to assess the importance and the current level of graduates' professional qualities (the results of studying), communicative abilities (soft skills). We combine the list of professional qualities according to according to the results of iternational project AHELO (Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes 2008-2012).

We discuss with stakeholders graduates’ key competences and the level of importance this competences. Then we rate meaning of each competence and compare stakeholders’ view by gap-analysis. GAP –analysis is investigation of strategic divide, which allows to identify the divergence in evaluable and needed level of graduates’ competences.

The results of our study of stakeholder assessment at the engineering programs lead to disappointing conclusion about the discrepancy between the results of training, the content of educational programs with the requirements of the labor market. The education system does not completely solve this problem.

Data sources: the results of the expert survey of practicing engineers with using questionnaires. Sample size was 240 respondents - technical specialists of the regional industrial enterprises.

Keywords:

engineering education, partnership, stakeholders, competence, soft skills, Human capital; Skills, Labor productivity.