Generic competences are essential for engineers' career advancement. However, different approaches for managing these competences across educational programmes in engineering exist. Our research aimed to explore the perceptions of undergraduate naval-engineering students enrolled in an elective leadership subject of the most relevant generic competences in the engineering profession. This study also identified their perceptions of developments and areas needing improvement. Applying the inductive method, the study was conducted through a content analysis of 63 portfolios used by undergraduate students at a polytechnic Spanish university. The findings conveyed that 'collaborating and teamworking' and 'managing and leading' were the most relevant groups of generic competences identified as important for career development. To enhance generic competence training in engineering education, our results propose an integrative perspective of these as a framework. The results reinforce the call for a better understanding of generic competences and metacognitive and conative endurances, supporting a more personalised integration of a holistic view of educational programmes in engineering.