Self-responsibility study initially outlined the importance of ‘self-directed Adult learning’ either as the method or the outcome of education.  Attention was given to the different interest of individual’s in accepting responsibility for their professional development. In this regard, several sources reveal the need for learners to take their own responsibility for developing employability competencies development.  However, the concern must be expressed at the incompleteness of research into the personal responsibility for competency development.

This paper reviews the conceptual frameworks related to an ongoing study at University of South Australia that examines the impacts of student’s self-responsibility to the development process of employability competencies in Australian school of engineering.  The definition of ‘competencies’ in this paper is consistent with the competencies specified by the Engineering Australia and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.