Operationalising generic employability frameworks within specific disciplines: a transparent example from engineering

Employability has become a central concern in engineering and higher education, with universities increasingly expected to prepare graduates for both initial employment and long-term career development. Within this context, effective frameworks are essential for guiding competency assessment and redesigning engineering programs to better equip students for professional life. Despite the availability of generic employability frameworks, there is limited empirical evidence regarding their efficacy within specific disciplines. Specifically, this study provides a transparent case example of applying a generic employability framework to categorise engineering-specific employability items and examines the challenges encountered in this process. A total of 88 employability items identified across 29 review papers were classified using the selected framework. The analysis revealed significant conceptual overlaps and several items that defied neat classification. These findings highlight the need for overarching institutional frameworks complemented by discipline-specific frameworks that accurately capture how employability manifests in particular disciplines.