A comparative analysis of the competences required in contemporary professional practice of engineers and those in the national curriculum guidelines for engineering courses

Abstract The notion of competence is increasingly present in the academic and professional environments. In this context, engineering education in Brazil has established, through curricular guidelines, a roll of competences to be developed during the undergraduate courses. Based on this legislation, a question arises on the adequacy of these definitions regarding what is actually required to professionals. Thus a survey was conducted with engineers in the work market to verify the adequacy of the established legislation to the competences required in practice. It was observed that technical knowledge is fundamental, and well-developed in educational institutions; however, the management area, although addressed to some degree in the guidelines, is not developed during graduation, becoming a deficiency to be corrected by professional engineers.