Engineering employability: Local and international student views in an Australian context

Abstract

Employability has been an important topic for research over the years with many definitions and models emerging. Owing to the changing nature of engineering careers, the concept of 'self-managed careers' is emerging, with the importance of sustainable employment for a successful career. Diversity in the Australian engineering higher education sector is significant, owing to representation of international students. The literature identifies differences in international students' learning behaviour and challenges relating to employability compared with locals. Student understanding is the 'missing perspective' in employability studies. PURPOSE OR GOALThe goal of this study is to explore engineering students' understanding of the concept of employability and employability categories, and investigate differences in understanding between local and international students. APPROACH OR METHODOLOGY/METHODSA qualitative phenomenological study was conducted. Data were collected from local and international engineering undergraduates at RMIT University, through focus groups and interviews in both face-to-face and online modes. To analyse participants' views on the concept of employability, thematic analysis was used. Qualitative content analysis was carried out to analyse views on employability categories, mapping data into the categories in the CareerEDGE model of employability. NVivo aided the analysis. OUTCOMESThe results reveal that the students' understanding of employability is more in terms of 'getting employment' than 'sustainable employment'. The most valued employability categories were generic skills, experience, and understanding & application of degree knowledge. Local students valued experience more while cultural intelligence was important for international students. Personal attributes and emotional intelligence emerged as noteworthy categories while career planning was discussed minimally. An unanticipated finding is the emergence of employability categories not present in the chosen CareerEDGE model, namely cultural intelligence and personal attributes. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS/SUMMARYThe results of this study indicate that the approach taken by Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) to develop students' understanding of employability may need to change. Implications are identified for researchers and educators in terms of employability research and pedagogical practices with international students. Recommendations are made for further research work.