Are "Engineering" Graduates Prepared to Meet Their Employers?

The most important aspect of an educational program is to evaluate its merits in meeting the needs and concerns of those who hire its product, the graduates. The world of work is discussed and analyzed from varied viewpoints; individual wants and needs, how this relates to the employer-employee relationship, the attributes that most employers are seeking, and the specifi'c concems of industry in the technical spectrum. There are two sides to the work world-an employee is concerned about what he has to gain by considering a choice of employment: remuneration rewards, relevant work, challenging work, respect as an individual, social satisfaction, and the opportunity for career advancement; the employer will be concerned about what's in it for them should they hire the employee: basic skills, cooperative attitude, ability to communicate, loyalty, integrity, motivation, initiative, performance, and appropriate appearance. The "engineering" curriculum to meet these employee-employer needs is discussed and the reader is thus queried, depending upon their own frame of reference, to decide whether or not "engineers" are prepared to meet their employers.