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Skills Gap Analysis : Satisfaction and Expectation of Engineering Educators in

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 International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE)
ISSN: 2277-3878, Volume-8 Issue-2S, July 2019

Skills Gap Analysis: Satisfaction and

Expectation of Engineering Educators in
Malaysia
Mohd Kamaruzaman, F., Hamid, R., Mutalib, A.A., Rasul, M.S

 excellent academic result is a ticket for graduates to be

Abstract: Skills mismatch between graduates and industry needs employed in a company. Nevertheless, the ability of an
is a prolonged issue. The high unemployment rate among engineering graduate to work and compete in the workplace
graduates indicates that the skills possessed by the students in does not rely solely on the knowledge gained during
higher learning institutions and the industrial needs are not in
university studies, but also their ability to master
the equilibrium. This scenario has negative impacts on the
country in economic, social and political aspects, which should
non-technical skills. This has been shown by previous
not be underestimated by the government. To have a better studies that the industry prefers to select engineering
overview regarding this issue, skills gap analysis has to be done graduates who excel in academics as well as professional
to identify the missing skills among the graduates. Previous skills (Ellis & Petersen, 2011; Farr & Brazil, 2010; Hillmer,
studies only reported skills gap analysis based on industry Wiedenbrueg, & Bunz, 2012; Kumar & Hsiao, 2007; Low,
perspectives. This study was conducted to explore and quantify 2006; Markes, 2006; Mohd Zuhdi, Mohd Nizam, &
the gaps from engineering educators’ perspectives. A survey on Ruhizan, 2017; Patacsil, Fernandez, & Cenas, 2017; Tong,
satisfaction and expectation of engineering educators from 2003; Vadivu, Bala, & Sumathi, 2015; Woodward, Sendall,
Malaysian public universities toward engineering graduates was
& Ceccucci, 2010). Furthermore, it was found by previous
conducted. Satisfaction and expectation were applied to
studies that some employers admitted that engineering
measure skill gaps of 18 non-technical skills that are relevant to
engineers. The research findings demonstrated that 50% of
graduates possess excellent technical skills, but lack of
engineering educators are only contented through the skill professional skills (Mahathir, 2007; Mustapha, 2002; Tong,
levels of their engineering graduates. On the other hand, all 2003; Yuzainee et al., 2009) (Dagget, 2010; Ministry of
skills were considered considerably essential for engineering Higher Education, 2012). Moreover, in the real working
graduates according to the educators. Skills gap analysis world scenario, most employers in the industry hesitate to
revealed that written communication skill exhibited the worst assign prominent position or task (i.e. project managers) to
mean gap, whereas the lowest mean gap was displayed as the fresh graduates since they have more technical knowledge
best score by critical thinking skill (0.41). Findings from this than non-technical skills including leadership and ethics,
survey can be used as a guidance for industries, institutions and
which enforced them to start working at clerical level.
graduates in helping one refines and defines skills needed for
Therefore, it is not a surprise that many complaints and
now and in the future, making employees aware about the
critical skills they need to grow to excel in the working field negative comments from various industries are about the
freshly trained graduates. Lacking in terms of necessary
Key Words Skills Gap; Non-technical Skills; Satisfaction; skills makes it difficult for the graduates to meet the recent
Expectation; Engineering Educators job requirements and professional expectations (Bakar &
Hanafi, 2007; Mai, 2012; Martin, Maytham, & Case, 2007).
I. INTRODUCTION Therefore, they were not selected to fulfil their positions
Engineers are seen as an asset and perform an essential when they do not satisfy the industry requirements.
role in transforming and supporting Malaysia into a Soft skills or non-technical skills are the abilities to be
high-income economy country. Engineering training is required to reduce the numbers of unemployed graduate. The
required to transform and arrange engineering graduates to use of terms in non-technical skills is different across
survive in the fast-changing world. It is undeniable that continents. Its sometimes refers to general skills,
employability skills, essential skills, core skills, life skills,
transferable skills, fundamental skill, necessary skills,
Revised Manuscript Received on June 9, 2019. enabling skills and soft skill. Nevertheless, it focuses on the
Mohd Kamaruzaman, F, Centre of Innovation in Teaching and Learning,
Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi,
same aspect, which is the skills required by graduates to
Selangor D.E. [email protected] . work other than technical skills. The deficiency of
Hamid, R, Smart and Sustainable Township Research Centre, Faculty of dominancy about soft skills features is the main factor for
Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600
UKM Bangi, Selangor D.E. graduates to not get a job after graduation (Esa &
Mutalib, A.A, Smart and Sustainable Township Research Centre, Faculty Jamaluddin; 2014). This
of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, scenario is likely to be due to
43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor D.E.
Rasul, M.S, STEM Enculturation Center, Faculty of Education, Universiti the attitude of the students
Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor D.E.

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 Skills Gap Analysis: Satisfaction and Expectation of Engineering Educators in Malaysia

who do not care about the need for the skills that are introduction about the significance of non-technical skills
important to be mastered today. It has been made evident by among engineering graduates are provided in the first
the study of (Murali & Rajaram, 2015) discovering that the section. The next section summarizes similar studies.
domain knowledge obtained the highest votes from 359 out Afterward, Section 3 shows the research methodology, for
of 779 engineering students. In sequence, a study by data collection of the study. Section 4 presents the
(Nooriah & Zakiyah, 2015) on graduates from UUM and information from the questionnaire and analysis of
USM found that only 35.6% of the students acknowledged outcomes, followed by a discussion of the findings in Section
that they know the forms and types of skill required by the 5. Finally, conclusions from this paper are drawn in Section
employers. Whereas 18.9% of the students did not know 6.
them, and the majority of students (45.5%) were unsure of
the skills demanded by the employers. Based on the findings II. LITERATURE REVIEW
of these two studies, this situation is a concern because, at The skills gap reviewed from previous studies in the
this time, students should have understood and known the engineering field. This is considered as the difference among
importance of mastering non-technical skills needed by the the market requirement (demand) and the current skills
industry rather than technical skills or knowledge. Emphasis provided by training or HEIs (supply).
on the mastery of non-technical skills needs to be focused
more effectively to face the increasingly sophisticated A. Skills gap between higher learning institutions and
technology flows. industry requirements
When graduates have the skills that match the needs of the As generally known, skills mismatch between graduates
industry, their chances of being employed will increase, and industry needs is a prolonged issue. It may occur because
which indirectly gives a positive impact on the of two factors; students in training and learning institutions
unemployment rate of the country. However, the problem of are not provided with the right skills and knowledge as well
skills incompatibility faced by graduates is still a significant as the imperfect labor markets (Cedefop, 2014). The high
problem often debated by various parties. The issue of skills unemployment rate among graduates indicates that the skills
mismatch is closely related to the unemployment rate of a possessed by the students in higher learning institutions and
country. Accordingly, the unemployment rate in Malaysia is the industrial needs are not in the equilibrium. It is the point
between 1.5%- 5% three decades ago. Overall, the where an organization can no more develop and continue
unemployment rate for graduates is still under control in a competitive as it cannot fill critical jobs with employees who
range of 10%. Though the unemployment rate in Malaysia have the right knowledge, skills and abilities (ASTD, 2012).
is considered low compared to advanced countries, this issue The findings from previous studies indicated a substantial
cannot be ignored. Skills mismatch can occur not only gap amongst the skills taught and assessed to the
regarding the supply and demand of the existing skills but undergraduate engineering students by HEIs and the skills
also regarding today‟s basic skills and future skills expected by professional engineers and industry
requirement. Besides, the phenomenon of graduates‟ excess practitioners from the graduates (Chithra, 2013; Domal,
supply is getting serious when they could not position Stappenbelt, & Trevelyan, 2008; Jainudin, Francis, Tawie,
themselves in the industry, causing an imbalance in the job & Matarul, 2015; Llorens, Llinas-Audet, Ras, &
market. This situation has negative impacts in all aspects, Chiaramonte, 2010; Nair & Patil, 2008; Nair, Patil, &
including economic, social, and political, which should not Mertova, 2009; Patacsil et al., 2017; Patil, 2005; Radcliffe,
be underestimated by the government. 2005; Rademacher, Walia, & Knudson, 2014; Ramadi,
Economically, engineer‟s unemployment is a wastage of Ramadi, & Nasr, 2015; Royal Academy of Engineers, 2010;
national resources when the country is not receiving an Tong, 2003; Wellington, Thomas, Powell, & Clarke, 2002;
appropriate return on its high investment in the higher Wong & Tsang, 2009). Table 1 displays the differences
education system (Alya Ilyana, 2018). Furthermore, the between the importance of skills implemented by HEIs with
country‟s economy is forced to bear the unprofitable the needs of industry based on previous studies.
investment rate due to unemployment. The situation
Table 1. Differences between the importance of skills by
becomes even more alarming as the nation‟s vision of
HEIs and the industry
attaining a status of developed state is increasingly difficult
Importance of skills
since the graduates are unemployed and fail to earn a steady Authors Year
HEIs Industry
income. Scientific theories
Based the above scenario, it is significant for higher (Tong,
2003 and technical Practical results
education institutions (HEIs) and industry to play significant 2003)
knowledge
roles to prepare and equip their students with soft skills apart
from technical knowledge. To achieve this, understanding
and requirement of the required skills must be met by all
involved parties including HEIs, employers and graduates to
reduce the skills gap as well as the unemployment rate
among graduates especially in engineering.
This paper is structured as follows: brief background and

Published By:
Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
448 & Sciences Publication
Retrieval Number: B10660782S19/19©BEIESP
 International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE)
ISSN: 2277-3878, Volume-8 Issue-2S, July 2019

None of functional instance, the findings from previous studies (Llorens et al.,
professional 2010; Nair & Patil, 2008; Nair et al., 2009; Wong & Tsang,
(Domal et Technical
2008 engineering 2009) revealed that HEIs assume that their engineering
al., 2008) knowledge
practice are learned graduates possess a high level of skills; nevertheless, this is
at university contradicted with the perspective of the industry. Besides,
Communication the emphasize given on the mastery of every skill by HEIs
skills, was seen to be lower than what was expected by the industry.
Oral
decision-making,
(Nair & communication, This suggests the existence of a significant gap in the
problem solving,
Patil, 2008 interpersonal development of skills between the HEIs and the industry.
leadership,
2008) skills, written According to (Mardam-Bey & Saran, 2008), globalization
emotional
communication has caused a change in skills and competencies required
intelligence,
social ethics from engineers recruited by industries and employers.
a) 59%: adequate a) Only 39%: Today's graduates deal with an increasingly globalized,
(Wong & in English adequate in automatized, virtualized, networked and flexible world to
Tsang, 2009 b) Well performed English compete for employment on a global market. This way, new
2009) in problem b) Adequate in competencies and skills will be needed more.
solving problem-solving Furthermore, some previous studies have discussed
Communication employer's dissatisfaction towards the generic skills or
skills, Oral and written professional skills possessed by graduates (Blom & Saeki,
decision-making, communication 2011; Hassan et al., 2007; Lattuca, Terenzini, & Volkwein,
(Nair et al., problem solving, skills, capacity to 2006; Mohamad Idham, Asliza, Wan Nor Syazana, Wan
2009
2009) leadership, learn, cooperation, Effa, & Talib, 2014; Mohd Shamsuri, Anidah, Zanariah, &
emotional teamwork, Izaidin, 2013; Mustapha, 2002; Nguyen, Yoshinari, &
intelligence, interpersonal skills Shigeji, 2005; Tong, 2003; Zaharim, 2008; Zaharim, Md
social ethics
Yusof, Omar, Mohamed, & Muhamad, 2009a) (Table 2).
Information
research skills, Teamwork, Table 2. List of previous studies on employer's
(Llorens et ability to learn, capacity to learn, dissatisfaction towards skills development of engineering
2010
al., 2010) teamwork, problem solving, graduates
flexibility, customer-oriented Authors Year Skills
planning skills Communication, interpersonal,
(Chithra, (Mustapha,
2013 Technical skills Behavioural skills 2002 critical thinking, problem
2013) 2002)
solving and entrepreneurial
a) Weak in oral Interpersonal communication
and written Good performance (Tong, 2003) 2003
skills (4.6 out of 10.0)
(Jainudin communication in attendance, (Nguyen et al., Lack of initiative, problem
et al., 2015 skills punctuality and 2005
2005) solving
2015) b) Weak in attitude, (Lattuca et al., Ability to understand contexts
application of cooperation, safety 2006
2006) and constraints
knowledge (Hassan et al., Oral and written
Time management, 2007
2007) communication skill
cooperation, (Zaharim, 2008) 2008 Entrepreneurial skill
(Ramadi et
2015 communication Communication, problem
al., 2015) - (Nair et al.,
skill, personal 2009 solving, leadership, social
accountability skill 2009)
ethics
Ranked skills: Ranked skills: (Zaharim et al., Teamwork, communication,
i) Teamwork i) Teamwork 2009a
2009a) problem solving
(95.2%) (97.4%) (Blom & Saeki, Technical skill, problem
(Patacsil et ii) Leadership ii) Leadership 2011
2017 2011) solving
al., 2017) (93.0%) (97.4%) Communication skills,
iii) iii) (Mohd Shamsuri
2013 leadership, critical thinking,
Communication Communication et al., 2013)
creativity
skill (92.6%) skill (94.8%) (Mohamad
Table 1 clearly shows that the importance and Idham et al., 2014 English proficiency
implementation of skills by HEIs are different from those of 2014)
the industry. Based on the findings, it can be determined Based on Table 2, communication skills displayed the
that HEIs emphasize the mastery of theory, which is entirely highest frequency (7 from 11
different from the practices in the workplace that emphasize studies, 58.3%). This suggests
more on practical results. In terms of skills mastery, HEIs that the majority of the
focus more on technical skills than generic skills. For employers stated their

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 Skills Gap Analysis: Satisfaction and Expectation of Engineering Educators in Malaysia

dissatisfaction on the level of communication of the 201 (Patacsil et al., OJT engineering Philippin
engineering graduates. This was followed by 7 2017) students and supervisors es
problem-solving skill (50.0%), critical thinking, leadership, Therefore, this study was aimed at investigating and
entrepreneurial (16.6%) as well as interpersonal, technical quantifying the gaps from engineering educators‟
skills, teamwork, initiative and creativity (8.3%). Based on perspectives. To calculate the skills gap, this study explores
this finding, it can be summarized that communication skill the satisfaction and expectation level of engineering
is the most significant skill required by the industry. This is educators towards the skills possessed by the engineering
in line with the outcome by (Mohd Shamsuri et al., 2013) graduates. As such, this study advocates the following
through a survey review demonstrating 68% of managers questions:
who named communication skill as the most essential skill  Which skills do engineering educators consider
in a job application. important for engineering students to pursue?
Previous researchers have attempted to study and analyze  How satisfied are the educators with the skills
the skills set for engineering graduates to perform in the possessed by engineering graduates?
fast-changing borderless world. Moreover, the analysis study  Do gaps exist between the satisfaction and
of the skills gap has been conducted by many researchers expectation of skills perceived by the engineering
from several countries around the world. Despite the wide students? If so, how large are these gaps?
availability of evidence indicating a significant gap between
the skills required for engineering graduates, most of these III. METHODOLOGY/MATERIALS
studies focused on the perspective of employers or graduates. This study has to apply a descriptive research design with
It is undeniable that employers and engineers play an a quantitative approach. A descriptive questionnaire was
essential part in the development of skills; nevertheless, the planned and utilized to observe the perception and
perspective study from engineering lecturers are also importance of skills needed for engineering graduates as
important. This is because engineering lecturers are those perceived by the engineering educators.
who are responsible for instilling the engineering skills
within the students during their study period at institutions A. Research instrument (skills selection)
of higher learning. Furthermore, some of the studies from Based on the previous research in the engineering field; a
researchers in Malaysia have been published for more than questionnaire was established based on that developed and
ten years, making the information dated. Table 3 shows a list used by earlier researchers in (Blom & Saeki, 2011; Zaharim
of past studies to associated with this study. et al., 2009c). The questionnaire was modified and refined in
line with the objectives and requirements of this study. The
Table 3. The list of past studies related to the analysis study
survey questionnaire comprises into two sections; Part A and
of the skills gap in the engineering field
Part B. Section A comprises of six items related to gender,
Yea
Researchers Sample Country engineering field, academic qualification, position, work
r
experience and university. Part B consists of two sections on
200 Employers in
(Tong, 2003) Malaysia the level of perception and expectation of engineering
3 engineering firms
200 High ranking personnel educators towards 18 engineering skills compiled from
(Zaharim, 2008) Malaysia previous studies (Blom & Saeki, 2011; Chithra, 2013; EAC,
8 in the engineering firm
(Zaharim, Omar, 2012; Murali & Rajaram, 2015; Patacsil et al., 2017; Ramadi
200 Basri, Muhamad, Human resources et al., 2015; Shyamalee, Wickramasinghe, & Dissanayake,
Malaysia 2007). Table 4 shows a list of 18 skills used in the survey.
9 & Mohd Isa, managers
2009c)
Table 4. 18 Non-Technical Skills for Engineering
200 (Nair et al.,
Employers Australia Graduates
9 2009)
Written communication
201 (Llorens et al., Employers and
Spain A (Engineering reports, technical writing, essays, peer
0 2010) managers
review)
201 (Blom & Saeki,
Employers India Verbal communication
1 2011) B
(Presentation, role play)
201
(Chithra, 2013) Students and employers India Teamwork
3 C
(Role in and diversity of team)
United
Problem solving
201 (Rademacher et Managers and hiring States D
(Problem identification, formulation and solution)
4 al., 2014) personnel and
Lifelong learning
Europe E
(CPD/ Continuous learning)
201 (Ramadi et al., Managers in
MENA Management
5 2015) engineering firms F
(Time, change, informational, finance, project)
Experienced HR
201 (Vadivu et al., managers, Managing
India
5 2015) Directors and Project
Managers

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 International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE)
ISSN: 2277-3878, Volume-8 Issue-2S, July 2019

Creativity IV. RESULTS AND FINDINGS

G
(identifies new approaches to problems)
Flexibility A. Demographic profile
H
(responds well to change) Overall, there were 144 engineering educators who
Integrity responded to the survey. All six demographic profiles were
I (understand/apply professional and ethical principles to discussed in the table below.
decisions)
J Critical thinking Table 5. Demographic Profile of Engineering Educators
K Leadership Profile Frequency Percentage
L Professionalism Male 96 66.7
Gender:
M Entrepreneurship Female 48 33.3
N Organization skills Civil
19 13.2
O Punctuality engineering
P Tolerance Electrical
19 13.2
Q Approachability engineering
R Reliability Electronic
20 13.9
The respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction level engineering
(ranging from not satisfied to extremely satisfied) and their Mechanical
Engineering 49 34.0
expectation level (ranging from not important to extremely engineering
field:
important). During data analysis, the answers fitting to the Chemical
12 8.3
first groups were named as „Important‟, whereas those engineering
belonging to the last two groups were called as „Not Industrial
3 2.1
important‟. This simplification was also applied for the engineering
satisfaction level of engineering educators. Aerospace
5 3.5
engineering
B. Population and sampling Other 17 11.8
A purposive and stratified random sampling method was Master 26 18.1
Academic
employed in this study. The population in this research Doctor of
qualification: 117 81.3
included engineering educators from public universities in philosophy
Malaysia. Accordingly, in 2018, the overall numbers of Lecturer 36 25.0
Job title:
engineering teachers‟ public universities Malaysia were Senior lecturer 71 49.3
2050 people. The sample size was calculated using the table Associate
29 20.1
professor
proposed by Krejie and Morgan (Krejcie & Morgan, 1970).
Professor 5 3.5
Based on this table, the sample of this study involved 322
Ingenieur (Ir) 1 0.7
people. Justification for the selection of engineering
Less than 5
lecturers as the respondents of this study is because they are 23 16.0
years
individuals responsible for evaluating students' performance Work 6-10 years 40 27.8
throughout their research at the university. Furthermore, experience: 11-15 years 41 28.5
they are the closest and most reliable individuals to provide More than 15
the correct and accurate feedback on academic achievement 40 27.8
years
and skills possessed by the students. USM 14 9.7
UPM 11 7.6
C. Data collection
UPNM 7 4.9
In this study, data collection adopted the use of an online UniMAP 33 22.9
questionnaire via Google forms. The online survey was University: UMP 8 5.6
selected as it is easy to manage and organize the data
UTeM 32 22.2
collected from the respondents. For initial contact, the
UTHM 28 19.4
respondents‟ name, responsibility and contact email address
UiTM 1 0.7
within their respective faculty and department were
UTM 9 6.3
determined. An invitation email together with permission
letter and link address was distributed to lecturers based on B. Educators’ satisfaction
the identified list. The timeframe for data collection was Skills were ranked based on educators‟ percentage of
within two months. To boost the response rate and to ensure satisfaction to determine the satisfaction level of engineering
timely completion of the questionnaire, the first friendly
educators towards the skills of engineering students.
reminder was sent to the respondents two weeks after the
Overall, 44% of educators were only slightly pleased with
initial mailing via email. These procedures yielded a
response rate of 30%. Another two weeks after that, second the features of their engineering students‟ skills. The
and last friendly reminders were sent; this resulted in a educators were mostly
further 15% response rate. Despite the shortcomings, the satisfied with problem-solving
participation number of 144 was considered to be within the skills. Meanwhile, they were
range of respondents based on previous studies. most dissatisfied with

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 Skills Gap Analysis: Satisfaction and Expectation of Engineering Educators in Malaysia

flexibility skills, which scored only 34.0% satisfactory level. (0.0%) (5.6%) (94.4%)
0 4 140
Table 6. Educators‟ satisfaction on skills of their D
(0.0%) (2.8%) (97.2%)
engineering students 1 16 127
Somewhat E
Skills Not satisfied Satisfied (0.7%) (11.1%) (88.2%)
satisfied 0 8 136
29 85 30 F
A (0.0%) (5.6%) (94.4%)
(20.1%) (59.0%) (20.8%) 0 11 133
23 79 42 G
B (0.0%) (7.6%) (92.4%)
(16.0%) (54.9%) (29.2%) 0 8 136
10 49 85 H
C (0.0%) (5.6%) (94.4%)
(6.9%) (34.0%) (59.0%) 0 4 140
16 71 57 I
D (0.0%) (2.8%) (97.2%)
(11.1%) (49.3%) (39.6%) 0 11 133
23 62 59 J
E (0.0%) (7.6%) (92.4%)
(16.0%) (43.1%) (41.0%) 1 20 123
25 70 49 K
F (0.7%) (13.9%) (85.4%)
(17.4%) (48.6%) (34.0%) 0 5 139
19 63 62 L
G (0.0%) (3.5%) (96.5%)
(13.2%) (43.8%) (43.1%) 6 36 102
17 62 65 M
H (4.2%) (25.0%) (70.8%)
(11.8%) (43.1%) (45.1%) 1 13 130
15 55 74 N
I (0.7%) (9.0%) (90.3%)
(10.4%) (38.2%) (51.4%) 2 4 138
21 71 52 O
J (1.4%) (2.8%) (95.8%)
(14.6%) (49.3%) (36.1%) 1 7 136
12 56 76 P
K (0.7%) (4.9%) (94.4%)
(8.3%) (38.9%) (52.8%) 0 8 136
18 61 65 Q
L (0.0%) (5.6%) (94.4%)
(12.5%) (42.2%) (45.1%) 0 3 141
30 61 53 R
M (0.0%) (2.1%) (97.9%)
(20.8%) (42.2%) (36.8%)
19 61 64 D. Skills Gap Analysis
N
(13.2%) (42.2%) (44.4%) A skills gap analysis was obtained by measuring the mean
39 62 43 average difference between the perception and importance of
O
(27.1%) (43.1%) (29.9%) skills perceived by the engineering graduates from
12 58 74 engineering educators‟ perspectives. Based on previous
P
(8.3%) (40.3%) (51.4%) studies by (Patacsil et al., 2017; Zaharim et al., 2009c), the
12 49 83
Q formula used to calculate the mean gap is as follows:
(8.3%) (34.0%) (57.6%)
12 64 68
R
(8.3%) (44.4%) (47.2%)
C. Educators’ expectation
In this section, engineering lecturers were required to Where
show the level of importance and able 7 shows the results. i refer to the ith respondent
Based Table 7, all skills were rated more than 85% p refers to the pth respondent
(important) except for entrepreneurial skill with 70.8%. n refers to the total number of respondents
Nevertheless, all skills in the questionnaire were still A higher mean gap value represents a more significant
considered as important by the engineering educators. discrepancy between what is expected, and their
Reliability skill (97.9%) and integrity (97.2%) were found to performance as perceived by educators. A gap analysis of the
be the most important for graduates. attributes revealed differences between
importance-satisfaction ratings ranging from 0.41 to 0.93.
Table 7. Educators‟ expectation on the skills of their The attribute that demonstrated the highest mean gap (the
engineering students worse score) was written communication skill. Meanwhile,
Somewhat the lowest mean gap (the best score) was obtained by critical
Skills Not important Important
important thinking skill. Figure 1 shows the value of the mean gap
0 8 136 calculated for this study. Moreover, from the analysis, the
A
(0.0%) (5.6%) (94.4%)
top 10 skills were identified
0 4 140
B and ranked as follow: 1)
(0.0%) (2.8%) (97.2%)
C 0 8 136 written communication skill;

Published By:
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Retrieval Number: B10660782S19/19©BEIESP
 International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE)
ISSN: 2277-3878, Volume-8 Issue-2S, July 2019

2) punctuality; 3) verbal communication skill; 4) reliability and integrity were given a top priority by the
management skill; 5) leadership skill; 6) problem-solving engineering educators toward their respective students.
skill; 7) professionalism; 8) creativity; 9) lifelong learning About skills gap, the analysis found that written
and 10) flexibility (Table 8). communication skill exhibited a significant skills gap. In
this study, written communication skill includes writing
engineering reports, technical writing, essays and peer
review. Engineering graduates may be of the view that good
writing skills are less important than other skills. They take
it easy in producing good and complete writing as they think
other artefacts like dimensioned project materials can give
more meaning than reports and essays. The reality is that
good writing skill is very important as it ensures that
customers or employers can get an in-depth understanding
about a project.
Based on the findings of this study, it can be seen that
there is a strong need for engineering graduates to be aware
and give their attention on the professional or non-technical
skills required by the industry. Engineering educators should
provide the current information about the real scenario
Fig 1. Mean gap between satisfaction and expectation happening in the working world besides moulding and
furnishing their students with appropriate and relevant skills
so that they are equipped to face the challenges and
responsibilities toward themselves and their country.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research work is financially supported by Universiti
Table 8. Skills ranked Kebangsaan Malaysia through grant AP-2015-015.
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