Bridging the Engineering Education–Industry Gap: A Model Based Investigation of Training Delivery, Curriculum Alignment, Experiential Learning and Real-World Skill Application.

engineering education; curriculum alignment; training delivery; experiential learning; industry exposure; real-world skill application; employability readiness; PLS-SEM; industry-academia collaboration

The accelerating transformation of engineering work environments has intensified concerns regarding the alignment between university-based engineering education and the competencies required in contemporary workplaces. Although engineering programmes increasingly incorporate industry-oriented courses, internships, project-based learning and digital technologies, persistent gaps remain between what students learn, how they are trained, and how effectively they can apply knowledge to authentic engineering problems. This study develops and empirically tests an integrated model explaining real-world skill application among engineering students through four educational antecedents: Training Delivery Quality, Curriculum–Industry Alignment, Experiential Learning, and Industry Exposure. Real-World Skill Application is conceptualised as a mediating mechanism linking educational inputs to students' perceived Employability Readiness. The study proposes a quantitative explanatory research design using survey data from engineering students, supported by faculty and industry-stakeholder validation. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) is proposed to assess the measurement and structural models. The conceptual model integrates educational delivery, curriculum responsiveness and workplace-oriented learning into a single framework. For methodological demonstration, an illustrative synthetic dataset of 450 engineering students is used in this manuscript; these values are explicitly presented as simulated and are not empirical findings. The proposed framework contributes to engineering education research by moving beyond the conventional curriculum-versus-industry-gap perspective and explaining the mechanism through which educational practices translate into actual skill application. The study offers implications for engineering institutions, curriculum designers, faculty-development programmes and industry