MANAGERIAL FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO BEING A SUCCESSFUL ENGINEERING MANAGER

The transition from an engineering to a managerial position has many challenges. The range of skills required to be successful in a management role is considerably more extensive for engineers when transitioning from an engineering position to a managerial position. In an engineering position, work is generally technical and requires engineering expertise, skills or knowledge to obtain the desired results. A managerial position requires a different set of expertise and skills. Generally, when engineers transition to a managerial position they lack these skills. The study participation letter was sent to 34 participants and Face to Face interviews were conducted with 13 engineering managers. The study used a qualitative method and thematic analysis for analysing data from participants of company ABC. This research focused on identifying and addressing management factors that would equip engineers to be successful engineering managers. The intention of the research was to identify and make recommendations on how to close the gap that exists between an engineer and a managerial position so that engineers can transition smoothly between the two positions. Based on the findings of this study, it revealed that most of the engineering managers are not skilled enough to be managers compared to other managerial fields. Generally, engineering graduates are only trained to have technical skills rather than soft skills.