Soft skills and the use of industry 4.0 as determinants of professional development in engineering graduates: A SEM approach

IF 4.9 2区社会学 Q2 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Sustainable Futures Pub Date : 2025-05-27 DOI:10.1016/j.sftr.2025.100742

Ronald Fernando Davila Laguna, Danny Lizarzaburu Aguinaga, Daniel Enrique Caceres Torres, Benito Armando Larroche Cueto

{"title":"Soft skills and the use of industry 4.0 as determinants of professional development in engineering graduates: A SEM approach","authors":"Ronald Fernando Davila Laguna, Danny Lizarzaburu Aguinaga, Daniel Enrique Caceres Torres, Benito Armando Larroche Cueto","doi":"10.1016/j.sftr.2025.100742","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The accelerated adoption of emerging technologies linked to Industry 4.0 has reshaped professional environments, requiring engineering graduates to master advanced digital competencies while demonstrating well-developed soft skills. In Latin America, however, technological adoption is uneven, and the systematic development of soft skills remains insufficient within university curricula. This dual gap –technological proficiency and interpersonal competence– compromises the professional development of graduates, limiting their adaptability and career progression. This study investigates the combined influence of soft skills and the use of Industry 4.0 technologies on the professional development of Peruvian engineering graduates, incorporating psychological well-being as a mediating variable. Employing a quantitative, cross-sectional, explanatory design, data were collected from 301 graduates across engineering disciplines. Validated instruments assessed soft skills (communication, teamwork, adaptability, leadership, conflict resolution), technological use (digital competencies and enabling technologies), psychological well-being (self-acceptance, autonomy, positive relations, environmental mastery, personal growth, life purpose), and professional development (self-development, organizational commitment, human quality, openness to change). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), applied using the Lavaan package in R, confirmed a strong, significant relationship between soft skills, Industry 4.0 technologies, psychological well-being, and professional development. The final model showed excellent fit (CFI = 0.960; RMSEA = 0.068; SRMR = 0.056), providing robust evidence that technological and emotional competencies jointly enhance psychological resilience and career outcomes. The study contributes to competence theory, positive psychology, and Industry 4.0 literature, highlighting the importance of integrated education strategies that foster technical mastery, emotional intelligence, and adaptive well-being to prepare graduates for technologically intensive careers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34478,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Futures","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100742"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Sustainable Futures","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666188825003089","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

The accelerated adoption of emerging technologies linked to Industry 4.0 has reshaped professional environments, requiring engineering graduates to master advanced digital competencies while demonstrating well-developed soft skills. In Latin America, however, technological adoption is uneven, and the systematic development of soft skills remains insufficient within university curricula. This dual gap –technological proficiency and interpersonal competence– compromises the professional development of graduates, limiting their adaptability and career progression. This study investigates the combined influence of soft skills and the use of Industry 4.0 technologies on the professional development of Peruvian engineering graduates, incorporating psychological well-being as a mediating variable. Employing a quantitative, cross-sectional, explanatory design, data were collected from 301 graduates across engineering disciplines. Validated instruments assessed soft skills (communication, teamwork, adaptability, leadership, conflict resolution), technological use (digital competencies and enabling technologies), psychological well-being (self-acceptance, autonomy, positive relations, environmental mastery, personal growth, life purpose), and professional development (self-development, organizational commitment, human quality, openness to change). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), applied using the Lavaan package in R, confirmed a strong, significant relationship between soft skills, Industry 4.0 technologies, psychological well-being, and professional development. The final model showed excellent fit (CFI = 0.960; RMSEA = 0.068; SRMR = 0.056), providing robust evidence that technological and emotional competencies jointly enhance psychological resilience and career outcomes. The study contributes to competence theory, positive psychology, and Industry 4.0 literature, highlighting the importance of integrated education strategies that foster technical mastery, emotional intelligence, and adaptive well-being to prepare graduates for technologically intensive careers.

查看原文本刊更多论文

软技能和工业4.0作为工程专业毕业生专业发展的决定因素：SEM方法

与工业4.0相关的新兴技术的加速采用重塑了专业环境，要求工程专业毕业生掌握先进的数字能力，同时展示良好的软技能。然而，在拉丁美洲，技术采用是不平衡的，大学课程中对软技能的系统发展仍然不足。这种技术熟练程度和人际交往能力的双重差距影响了毕业生的专业发展，限制了他们的适应能力和职业发展。本研究调查了软技能和工业4.0技术对秘鲁工程专业毕业生专业发展的综合影响，并将心理健康作为中介变量。采用定量、横断面、解释性设计，从301名工程专业毕业生中收集数据。经过验证的工具评估了软技能（沟通、团队合作、适应能力、领导能力、解决冲突）、技术使用（数字能力和使能技术）、心理健康（自我接受、自主性、积极关系、环境掌握、个人成长、生活目标）和专业发展（自我发展、组织承诺、人的素质、对变化的开放性）。使用R中的Lavaan软件包进行的结构方程建模（SEM）证实了软技能、工业4.0技术、心理健康和专业发展之间存在强烈而显著的关系。最终模型拟合良好(CFI = 0.960；Rmsea = 0.068；SRMR = 0.056)，为技术能力和情绪能力共同提高心理弹性和职业成就提供了有力的证据。该研究为能力理论、积极心理学和工业4.0文献做出了贡献，强调了综合教育策略的重要性，即培养技术掌握、情商和适应性幸福感，为毕业生为技术密集型职业做好准备。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Sustainable Futures Social Sciences-Sociology and Political Science

CiteScore

9.30

自引率

1.80%

发文量

审稿时长

71 days

期刊介绍： Sustainable Futures: is a journal focused on the intersection of sustainability, environment and technology from various disciplines in social sciences, and their larger implications for corporation, government, education institutions, regions and society both at present and in the future. It provides an advanced platform for studies related to sustainability and sustainable development in society, economics, environment, and culture. The scope of the journal is broad and encourages interdisciplinary research, as well as welcoming theoretical and practical research from all methodological approaches.