Abstract
The rapid industrialization of the oil rich country of Saudi Arabia has lead to the expansion of its engineering colleges. However, it is perceived by local industrial and academic sectors that changes in the curriculum are not dynamic enough to keep pace with a rapidly-changing marketplace. The objective of this study is to shed some light on these perceptions. This paper reports results of a study carried out in Saudi Arabia for the purpose of ranking generic competencies required from engineering graduates. A questionnaire was designed and sent to engineers working in industry or in academia. The questionnaire included fifty competencies that were grouped into four domains: knowledge and understanding, personal and professional skills, interpersonal skills, and practicing skills. The analysis of the survey data has identified the competencies that are valued by industry and academia. The overall analysis showed that non-technical and attitudinal competencies are being perceived as equally important as technical ones. This is consistent with studies carried out elsewhere in the world. However, some issues such as communication in English language and computer literacy are deemed equally important. The findings of this study may be helpful in identifying the critical soft skills that need to be carefully addressed in any tuning of the current engineering curriculum.