Reaching Career Readiness of Engineering Students Through Identification of Employability Skills and Universal Competences

The transition to Industry 5 puts particularly high demands on the engineers’ general competencies, which are usually called “universal” or “key” ones. In this regard, the technical universities are faced with the task of integrating formation of technical skills and knowledge with employability skills that are required by certain industry. However, as the analysis of an extensive list of scientific papers shows, international pedagogical research lacks a systematic and consistent definition of employability skills that ensure university graduates’ career readiness. The relevance of this study lies in the systematic theoretical study of a number of pedagogical concepts used to assess the career readiness of young engineers. Focusing on the corporate competency models of large companies in the agro-industrial complex and railway transport, the authors present several ratings and survey results of the employers and university professors in order to determine the most significant key competencies of young engineers. Based on the priority of universal competencies over professional ones, the authors consider the most effective interactive methods and forms of education at the university, mainly through integrated programs additional to the curriculum, during which students get the opportunity to develop their social, communicative and mental competencies.