Abstract: “Technical competencies and specific engineering skills alone are not sufficient in the modern labor market but employers expect engineers to actively promote the products they create. Engineers often perceive their skills differently than employers do. Insufficient university training in a number of fields including the development of social, management and communication skills leads to an objective and understandable gap between the perceived and the required levels of such competencies. Based on the results of a survey of 3158 engineers conducted in 2011 in the Russian Federation, the study shows a number of deficits in the perception of innovation skills and the respective demand for these.”

Keywords: competency, engineer, innovation, skill; vocational education and training