The Engineers’ Non-technical Competences

This study empirically tests a heuristic model of non-technical engineering competences. The results of factor analysis and regression analysis support the model proposing six non-technical competence domains consisting of 19 competences engineers use in their everyday work. Furthermore, the competence domains have a shared component with their neighboring competences. Engineers use more frequently these non-technical engineering competences that belong to the Personal competence domain (i.e. flexibility, learning, self-management, stress tolerance competencies), and to the Interpersonal competence domain (relationships/cooperation, communication, negotiations/conflict management), also personal and professional ethics competencies and innovation and creativity competencies. The findings indicate that the male engineers with the long professional work experience use the Innovation and entrepreneurship competences, and the Leadership, management, and administrative competences more frequently while the female engineers apply more often the Professional ethics competences, the Personal competences, and the Interpersonal competences. Development of these non-technical engineering competencies is highly recommended for the competence-based engineering education in the universities. Key-Words: Engineers’ competence, non-technical engineering competences WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ADVANCES in ENGINEERING EDUCATION Velli Parts, Mare Teichmann E-ISSN: 2224-3410 107 Issue 4, Volume 9, October 2012 willingness to act in accordance with his personal values i.e. attitudes provide a general frame for a person’s decisions and actions. Second, the ongoing debate about the meaning and definition of engineering competences follows the distribution of skills and/or competences in various combinations: technical and non-technical [2], [11], [15], [16], [35], [36], [37], [38] or basic and additional [39] or technical and soft [40]. As the term “non-technical” is already widely used in engineering, including in the engineering education, and non-technical competences include the fields of science that cannot be unambiguously defined as social e.g. law, ethics and innovation, it is reasonable to use the term “non-technical” competences. Based on the described understanding, non-technical engineering competences can be defined as a specific range of non-technical knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to adequately perform the professional work and professional roles of engineer. 2 Problem Formulation Based on a comprehensive review of research literature, analysis of qualification criteria for engineers prescribed by professional bodies, expected outcomes for engineering graduate programs, and different visions of the future of engineering, we offered a heuristic model of nontechnical competence domains for engineers (Fig. 1). The discussions about a heuristic model will be held at 10 WSEAS International Conference on Engineering Education [41]. Professional ethics Personal competencies Leadership, management, and administrative competencies Law and legal system Interpersonal