**2. Opportunities for integration of industrial designers in working life**

In pursuing the proposed aims, it was necessary to define criteria for the selection of job advertisements that would be examined. Given the impossibility of collecting all the available advertisements, during the time in which the study took place, because of insufficient resources, information was collected only in the form of sampling. Advertisements were retrieved by searching the Internet, specifically those clearly aimed at industrial, product, or equipment designers and that provided some information on sector of work, on the required qualifications, and on the skills and software knowledge preferred. In addition, the collection was limited to twenty offers for Portugal, and about a third of this amount to offers from each one of the other countries covered in the research that was done.

#### **2.1. National context (Portugal)**

The analysis in this section addresses the opportunities for integration into working life of industrial designers through an Internet search of job offers during the extended time pe‐ riod from October 2010 to February 2011, in Portugal. Job offers for positions in the field of industrial, product and equipment design were sought and identified. In Portugal, the regions that have a higher rate of development in relation to industrialization, are those where there is a greater number of job offers for industrial designers to be found, in par‐ ticular, the central region (in and around the cities of Lisbon and Leiria) and the Northern region (in and around the cities of Porto and Braga). Among the most requested features in the offers were product designers with emphasis on the development of innovative products that would make a difference by strengthening the capacity of differentiation in highly competitive environments.

The characteristics and skills most valued are holding at least a degree in design (bachelors and masters are also required in some cases) and having experience in mastering the instru‐ mental and technical means necessary for the conceptual development of new products. Designers must especially master the use of software such as Illustrator, Photoshop™ and 3D tools (Solidworks™, Rhino™, ProE™). Most advertisements aim at designers who have the ability to speak multiple languages, mainly English but also French, German and Spanish, besides their native language.

Regarding interpersonal and relational skills, applicants must show that they are dynamic, balanced, revealing a character that is suitable to work as a team member and having an entrepreneurial, creative and innovative attitude is especially valued. Almost every offer seeks experienced professionals with at least 2 years of experience, to serve in the furniture and electronics industries, among others. The search for trainees (without experience) was not found to be very expressive.

In many job offers, the prospective employer was not specified, and with regard to the benefits (wages) in return for the services to be rendered, it is noted that only a few of the job offers surveyed did declare wage values.

#### **2.2. International context**

the United States and Canada. The authors deliberately chose to focus this study on entrepre‐ neurship and its importance for the industrial designer, as well as on the contents of training that are more valued by employers of these professionals. The authors chose to present the results of the survey of businesses employing industrial designers and of industrial designers in the final parts of the chapter. The focus of the chapter lies also to a greater extent on the first phase of the career of industrial designers, rather than on later stages, where the range of career paths is more diversified and more difficult to cover in a work of this nature. It is also believed that the initial phase of the designer's career is a critical stage for the affirmation of the individual professional and therefore it arouses a very high level of interest as an object of

**2. Opportunities for integration of industrial designers in working life**

one of the other countries covered in the research that was done.

**2.1. National context (Portugal)**

highly competitive environments.

In pursuing the proposed aims, it was necessary to define criteria for the selection of job advertisements that would be examined. Given the impossibility of collecting all the available advertisements, during the time in which the study took place, because of insufficient resources, information was collected only in the form of sampling. Advertisements were retrieved by searching the Internet, specifically those clearly aimed at industrial, product, or equipment designers and that provided some information on sector of work, on the required qualifications, and on the skills and software knowledge preferred. In addition, the collection was limited to twenty offers for Portugal, and about a third of this amount to offers from each

The analysis in this section addresses the opportunities for integration into working life of industrial designers through an Internet search of job offers during the extended time pe‐ riod from October 2010 to February 2011, in Portugal. Job offers for positions in the field of industrial, product and equipment design were sought and identified. In Portugal, the regions that have a higher rate of development in relation to industrialization, are those where there is a greater number of job offers for industrial designers to be found, in par‐ ticular, the central region (in and around the cities of Lisbon and Leiria) and the Northern region (in and around the cities of Porto and Braga). Among the most requested features in the offers were product designers with emphasis on the development of innovative products that would make a difference by strengthening the capacity of differentiation in

The characteristics and skills most valued are holding at least a degree in design (bachelors and masters are also required in some cases) and having experience in mastering the instru‐ mental and technical means necessary for the conceptual development of new products. Designers must especially master the use of software such as Illustrator, Photoshop™ and 3D tools (Solidworks™, Rhino™, ProE™). Most advertisements aim at designers who have the

research.

212 Advances in Industrial Design Engineering

The analysis carried out in this section discusses the opportunities for integration into working life of industrial designers which were unveiled through a survey of international job offers available on the Internet, in the period from October 2010 to February 2011. The survey focused on job offers in the area of industrial, product and equipment design, identifying the positions advertised, the prerequisites for filling each vacancy and the benefits offered. United States, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, UK, Canada, Spain and Brazil were the countries included, given the perception of the authors that in these countries there are many companies looking for professionals in the field of industrial design. Regarding Portuguese speaking countries and territories, other than Angola, Brazil and Portugal, including Cape Verde, Mozambique, Macau, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe, the demand for industrial designers does not seem to have much expression, judging from the period when job offers placed on the Internet were surveyed.

Among the most requested skills for the industrial designer, emphasis appears in many cases on packaging design and development of innovative products. The most valued qualifications concern holding at least a Bachelor degree in a design specialization. Besides up-to-date skills in 3D solid modelling, some companies place a premium on knowledge of CATIA software and having good overall designer computer skills, including experience with webpage design. Almost every offer surveyed sought experienced professionals with at least 3 years of experi‐ ence.

#### **2.3. Discussion on opportunities for integration in active life**

The survey carried out at national level about opportunities for integration in working life for industrial designers showed that, with regard to experience, companies often want designers with some experience and rarely ask for those looking for their first job. In relation to com‐ pensation, very few companies disclosed earning ranges in their offers.

International demand for industrial designers is significant, both in European countries and globally. In what concerns Portuguese-speaking countries, with the exception of Brazil and Portugal, the demand does not seem to be expressive. Regarding remuneration, almost all companies disclosed the salary offered, with the monthly value changing from country to country and mostly between 1000 and 3000 USD. The most common areas of action ranged from electronics to footwear, including household appliances, among others. In terms of experience, companies often seek designers with some experience and rarely ask for those seeking their first job.

Ecotourism is a segment of tourism that explores the environmental, natural and cultural heritage, encourages conservation and seeks the formation of environmental awareness through the interpretation of the environment and promoting the welfare of populations. In this project, it was chosen to develop a hot air balloon. The idea was to create the balloon to support human recreational activity, through geographical exploration from an aerial per‐ spective in a non-polluting way, and thus contribute to rural poverty alleviation and sustain‐ able development in rural communities of the northern provinces of Mozambique, and Niassa in particular. The aim was to create a sightseeing tour promoting touristic housing where Eco tourists would be able to stay with the native population, and partake in the activities of these traditional communities. Through this practice, the income would go directly to families and community funded projects in health, education, road construction, among other domains. Mozambique is a country in the east coast of southern Africa, bordered to the north by Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania, to the east by the Mozambique Channel and the Indian Ocean, and to the south and to the southwest by South Africa and to the west by Swaziland and Zimbabwe. The province of Niassa was selected for the realization of the ecotourism route conceived

Early Stages of Industrial Design Careers http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/52857 215

(approximately 120 km) - Niassa - Lichinga - Dias - Maniamba - Metangula.

the route chosen would enable a comfortable and safe journey through the air.

obtained from oil, both extracted from mineral reserves.

were reported by Couvinhas et al. (2012) and by Coelho et al. (2012).

February.

The chosen route begins in Lichinga, the capital of Niassa. The first stop would be Dias, about 46 km away. The next stop would be Maniamba, about 43 km from Dias. Departing from Maniamba, the next destination would be Metangula, about 30 km away. Given that the maximum speed for safe travel by balloon is up to 20 km/h (always depending on the weather and wind) and that the autonomy of the balloon is usually 3 hours of flight, it is expected that

As an air vessel without mechanical handling and dependent on wind currents, weather monitoring becomes essential for the safe displacement of the hot air balloon. The ideal conditions for balloon flights are early in the day, with great visibility and light winds, with speeds up to 10 knots (18.5 km / h or 5.2 m / s). The wind regime in Mozambique is essentially influenced by the circulation of the atmosphere in southern Africa and the main currents blow from southeast. Mean annual temperatures vary between 23° C and 26° C. In areas of high altitude, these are less than 23° C. The warmest and most moist months are October to

An anaerobic digester is a device used to produce biogas, a mixture of gases, mainly methane, produced by bacteria that digest organic matter under anaerobic conditions (in the absence of oxygen). A bio-digester is a chemical reactor in which chemical reactions of biological origin take place. The biogas can be used as fuel for the hot air balloon instead of natural gas or gas

This project was presented on July 8th, 2010 in Maputo, Mozambique, at the international symposium "Towards a research agenda for development ergonomics in Mozambique". Other projects were developed onwards as a consequence of the afore-mentioned symposium and

The results to be achieved with this Ecotourism project based on a hot air balloon that runs on biogas created from bio-digesters placed locally (fueled by organic waste from livestock)
