The Recognition Of And Increasing Value Of Professional Engineering Skills

Studies by EAC/ABET have identified skill gaps engineers and engineering technologists lack upon graduation. Some of the skills identified were project management, teamwork, engineering economics, organizational behavior, decision-making, and communications12. Hundreds of ASEE conference attendees, in 2003, listened to keynote speaker, Shirley Jackson, discuss the increased importance of “soft skill” education for engineers today. Dr. Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, stressed the importance of leadership education for engineers and engineering technologists. A few of the many “soft skills” in which Dr. Jackson focused was leadership, ethics, teamwork, integrity, appreciation of diversity, the value of cooperation and respect for others, and the ability to gain a wider and broader perspective. Norman Augustine, in 1994, coined the term, “Socioengineering” to describe the combination of the contextual and process skills with the elements of traditional engineering education needed for the twenty-first century This paper will focus on ABET Accreditation and how it has expanded in recognizing “socioengineering” by including soft skills, or professional skills, in the quality assurance of engineering higher education. It is when we all recognize the changes needed, prepare for the future, and become systems thinkers that we will meet our goals of preparing well-rounded engineering graduates for the workplace. ABET recognized the needed changes years ago and this is why future employers recognize accreditation as assurance of a well-educated and well-prepared entry-level employee.