Comparative analysis of recruitment qualifications of industrial designers in Turkey through undergraduate education programs and online recruitment resources

Abstract

Although the term "industrial designer" is a well known title, the understanding of industrial design as a profession is still unclear, as evidenced by its application in the sector. In light of this, schools of industrial design should, despite the immense contributions to the sector made by their past graduates, continuously revise their curricula and review their deficiencies to provide a better correlation between their graduates and the needs of the industry. The aim of this study is to ascertain the role of the industrial designer from the perspective of industry by analyzing the specifications stated in job adverts for the recruitment of industrial designers. This study was conducted in three phases. In the first phase, an in-depth literature review was completed. The second phase was dedicated to the identification of the industrial designer in terms of education institutions, and to realize this, the curricula and course contents of industrial design undergraduate programs selected from ten universities in Turkey were analyzed. The third phase was directed towards identifying the profile of the industrial designer from the perspective of industry. Thus, the analyses were made through an investigation of the job opportunities available in the industrial design profession announced in seven major job search websites during the last 4 months of 2009. The results of this study are crucial for all parties involved as they help to satisfy the recruitment expectations of industrial design education, the industry, and the graduates.