ABSTRACT
The transformation in global workforce demands the students of engineering to acquire requisite skill set to meet the customer needs and competitiveness of organizations. There is a profound gap identified between students’ skill set and workplace requirements specified in the surveys with specific reference to the employability of engineering students in India like the All India Council for Technical Education, National Skill Development Corporation, The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), and World Bank. According to Pawar (2008), chairman of NIIT Technologies, “nearly two-thirds of 3,00,000 engineering graduates need to be reskilled”. Madan Padaki (2010), CEO, MeritTrac Services, states, “if 100 engineering students apply for a job today, only 20 of them are employable”. In this line, it is necessary to identify the reason for the problems persisting in the recruitment of engineering students. Bennett et al. (2000) have expounded that receiving an academic, professional, or vocational education is not enough for the students. This explicates that students are to be prepared with competencies and skill set beyond the technical knowledge. These statements lay an emphasis on engineering institutions to promote the students with adequate skill set required for the workplace. Kivunja (2014) has indicated that teaching 21st Century skills to the students will allow them to adapt to changing work environments, welcome new ideas, and embrace changing circumstances that leads to success in the workforce (as cited in Kisia J. Weeks, 2019). In concord with this, the chapter propounds the need for amalgamation of 21st Century skills in the English course of engineering curriculum to prepare the students of engineering excel in their career prospects. This chapter further discusses the constraints of English teachers in incorporating this skills set in the English classroom and suggests different pedagogical interventions and assessments in the engineering curriculum. The chapter also recommends to integrate diverse classroom techniques to develop the students’ skill set. This in turn will bridge the gap between recruiters’ expectations and students’ skill set and help the students to succeed in their future workplace.
