Engineering Management: Reflective Essay on Developing Key Skills

This essay reflects on the development of employability skills within the context of engineering management, focusing on communication, implementation of EEO, WH&S, and EM principles, and problem-solving abilities. The author discusses the impact of an industrial placement at EDA Engineers, highlighting the improvement of professional communication skills through practical experience. The importance of theoretical knowledge gained during coursework is acknowledged, but the essay emphasizes the critical role of practical application and real-world problem-solving in honing essential skills. The author reflects on learning EEO, WHS policies, and EM principles and stresses the importance of developing skills outside the coursework to bridge the gap between theory and practice, ultimately enhancing employability and career growth.

Running head: ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT
Engineering Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT
Reflective Piece
The employability skills which I need most are ability to communicate effectively,
implementation of EEO, WH&S and EM principles, along with problem solving skills. The
consideration of the following paragraphs will help me to develop my skills.
I have learned a lot from my industrial placement. It helped me to prepare and present
myself as a professional. I was little nervous about the industry placement however, I was
confident about my skills that I can impress the interviewer. I cleared the first round of written
and then I was called for interview. My interview was good as I have prepared well for my first
industrial placement. I had knowledge of theoretical skills and I prepared for my presentation. I
lacked ability to communicate professionally. However, the interview was good and I was
satisfied with my presentation. I was selected for industry placement of EDA Engineers. It was
good experience and my confidence level boosted. My industry placement of EDA Engineers
required communication skills both verbally and in writing which I had however not as a
professional (McMurray et al., 2016). This industry placement helped me to improve my
communication both verbally and written. I can communicate effectively however
communicating professionally is different from day to day to communication. Therefore,
industry placement helped me to develop my communication ability as a professional. Industrial
placement helped me to get an exposure to what is the real scenario of the industries. My ability
to communicate effectively has become better and improved (Karanges et al., 2015). I feel that I
can communicate professionally. Now, I can say that I developed my professional
communication and it will help me in my future growth.

2ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT
The industry skills helped me in developing communication whereas my semester helped
me in developing skills that will help in my future career growth. The most important skill that I
developed during my semester is knowledge and capacity to implement EEO, WHS policy and
EM principles. This skill was required as per job description of EDA Engineers industry
placement. I learned this skill from my semester and thus I was able to develop my employability
skill of EEO, WHS policy and EM principles. During my semesters I was able to learn and
develop EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity), WHS (Work, Healthy and Safety) policy and
EM (Environmental Management) principles (Hancock, 2017). The semester helped me to
develop by helping me to understand what actually the term means. However, the semester did
not help me to gain practical knowledge of implementing EEO, WHS policy and Environmental
Management principles. This was the major issue in the learning of implementation of EEO,
WHS policy and Environmental Management principles which I felt. However, the best part was
that I had the knowledge of EEO, WHS policy and Environmental Management principles. This
skill is important to develop and it requires deep understanding and knowledge. This knowledge
limited my development of employability skill. Therefore, I can say that my semester helped me
to develop my skill of implementing EEO, WHS policy and Environmental Management
principles. This skill helped me to get placed in EDA Engineers industrial placement.
I developed my theoretical skills during my semester however only learning theoretically
through semester is not enough. I have developed and improved my skills outside my
coursework where I got to know about my weak areas. These weak areas are due to lack of
practical knowledge learning during my semester. The most important skill that I developed is
problem solving skill (Segal, Chipman & Glaser, 2014). This skill was stated under the job
description of EDA Engineer industrial placement. I always knew that problem solving skills are

3ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT
most important skills which are the requirement for every organization from small to large. I
developed my problem solving skills through outside world. My semester helped me to learn
theoretical part and I applied that part in the real world to get practical knowledge and
understanding. I learned a lot from outside my course work as I always knew that in the current
scenario, organizations want practical knowledge. I always focused on developing my skills
through solving real life scenarios such as brainstorming the solutions such as how to mitigate
risks. I did not focus on particular topic to apply problem solving skills rather I tried to solve
even the smallest problems that are there. I always focused on real life scenarios to sharpen my
skills. I got to showcase my skills in the interview along with theoretical knowledge from
semester. Therefore, my learning from outside of my coursework helped me to develop problem
solving skills.

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References
Hancock, M. L. (2017). Law Enforcement Fitness Policies in Relation to Job Injuries and
Absenteeism (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).
Karanges, E., Johnston, K., Beatson, A., & Lings, I. (2015). The influence of internal
communication on employee engagement: A pilot study. Public Relations Review, 41(1),
129-131.
McMurray, S., Dutton, M., McQuaid, R., & Richard, A. (2016). Employer demands from
business graduates. Education+ Training, 58(1), 112-132.
Segal, J. W., Chipman, S. F., & Glaser, R. (Eds.). (2014). Thinking and learning skills: Volume
1: relating instruction to research. Routledge.