Análise das expectativas e demandas do mercado de trabalho para o engenheiro químico: a construção de parcerias entre a graduação e o setor produtivo para fomentar competências

Abstract

With the constant changes in society, it became necessary to adapt the way in which professionals are trained in the university environment, since the market starts to demand skills not only of a technical nature but also of a socio-behavioral nature. In this context, in 2019 the National Curricular Guidelines (DCNs) were updated to ensure that by 2022 Higher Education Institutions can evolve in relation to the curriculum and teaching methodologies and, in this way, cover and give greater emphasis to the development of competence in engineers with emphasis on the so-called soft skills, which are responsible for highlighting the professional in the productive environment. Therefore, this work sought to understand the profile sought by the productive sector in relation to chemical engineering professionals and how this is connected with the development proposed by the pedagogical project we currently have. With this information, it was possible to define some of the main challenges encountered by the productive sector in consolidating effective partnerships with undergraduate courses; suggest possible developments in the curricular activities of the Chemical Engineering course and relate the development of skills sought by the job market with the curriculum to facilitate the inclusion of graduates in the area in a more assertive way. It is important to highlight that all the suggestions present in this work were based on: 1) Research and perceptions related to teaching-learning in the professional sector; 2) Methodologies already used in other educational institutions or in organizations that help students enter the job market. The results presented showed that today the EQ course at UFSCar has a deficit in the training of this professional in the field of behavioral skills, where only 40% of what the market expects has been developed through graduation. The research also highlighted the effectiveness of extension activities, from the graduate's point of view, for the development of such skills. Furthermore, the data highlighted possible partnerships that the productive sector would like to build with HEIs to promote soft skills, playing an active role in professional training.