How to Evaluate the Relevance of Skills and Competencies

Authors

Johanna Naukkarinen
School of Energy Systems, LUT University, Finland
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6029-5515
Sarah Hitt
New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering, United Kingdom
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0176-6214
Tina Baradaran
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales, Australia
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5573-5088
Virve Murto
Academic Engineers and Architects, TEK, Finland
https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8075-2189
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59490/mt.266.96

Synopsis

This chapter discusses the rationale and means to evaluate the relevance of transferable competencies and skills for engineering degrees. It presents three processes that have been used in different contexts to identify which transferable skills and competencies are needed in engineering work. The cases also illustrate how the viewpoints of different stakeholders can be brought to the table. Although the evaluation of the relevance of skills may be more pertinent to programme heads and other educational leaders responsible for the construction of entire degrees, knowing about these processes and their outcomes can also benefit lecturers of a single course or module by showing where some of the requirements set for the teachers originate from and how they are justified. The chapter finishes with recommendations for those who wish to conduct an evaluation of relevance in their own context.  

Author Biographies

Johanna Naukkarinen, School of Energy Systems, LUT University, Finland

Naukkarinen, Johanna (0000-0001-6029-5515) is an Associate Professor at Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT), Finland, as well as a Docent of engineering education research at Tampere University, Finland. Her primary research interests are technology and society, gender diversity, and engineering education.

Sarah Hitt, New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering, United Kingdom

Hitt, Sarah Jayne (0000-0002-0176-6214) is founding Professor of liberal studies at the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering in Hereford, UK, serving as lead for transferable skills at the Centre for Advanced Timber Technology and Programme Lead for the BSc Construction Management. She is Visiting Professor at Edinburgh Napier University.

Tina Baradaran, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales, Australia

Baradaran, Tina (0000-0001-5573-5088) is an Early Career Academic Researcher and a PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia. Her research explores workplace learning and competency development. Tina is leading the creation and implementation of an interoperable and shareable competency framework for engineering disciplines.

Virve Murto, Academic Engineers and Architects, TEK, Finland

Murto, Virve (0009-0000-8075-2189) is a Researcher at the Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK), where she is responsible for the TEK Graduate Survey. Her primary research interests focus on engineering education and educational policy.

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Volume

SEFI Handbook on Teaching Transferable Competencies and Skills in Engineering

Pages

823-843

Published

August 26, 2026

Series

Education series

Categories

Copyright (c) 2026 Gillian Saunders-Smits, Lynn Van den Broeck, Thies Johannsen

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Naukkarinen, J., Hitt, S., Baradaran, T., & Murto, V. (2026). How to Evaluate the Relevance of Skills and Competencies. In SEFI Handbook on Teaching Transferable Competencies and Skills in Engineering (pp. 823-843). TU Delft OPEN Books. https://doi.org/10.59490/mt.266.96