Abstract: General education is not only a concept of university education, but also a model of talent
cultivation. As a university-wide general education course, engineering skills training is an important
way to cultivate students’ engineering awareness and improve students’ engineering quality. Based on
the teaching reform and practice of engineering skills training in South China Agricultural University,
this paper focused on the teaching of engineering skills training in agricultural colleges. By analyzing
the problems existed in teaching elements of this course, such as teaching goal, teaching content,
teaching mode and teaching conditions, some reform directions and measures were put forward on the
basis of the requirement of talents training in agricultural colleges in twenty-first century. Besides, the
effect and achievements of the new teaching method were summarized, for the purpose of
establishing a kind of teaching mode of engineering skill general training which is suitable for the
agricultural colleges, and has the characteristics of the times.

Key words: agricultural colleges, engineering skills, general education, teaching reform