Education - Skills or Competencies

In today’s competitive job market, companies are spending a great deal of time, resources and money to ensure the screening, interviewing and selection effort delivers high-quality candidates who are capable of producing desired results.

Research has shown that job performance, job satisfaction, employee engagement and retention increase significantly if a company currently has or recruits the “right person for the position”.

Education and perceived ability are no longer sufficient when making placement decisions or when considering workplace skills development or career progression. Consider the “square pegs in round hole” dilemma many companies and public enterprises find themselves in today. Consider the “misfits” you know of and can name – there are far too many unfortunately.     

The changes being advocated which relate to the changes in job profiles resulting from the introduction of “Organising Framework for Occupations” (ODFO’s) are placing a greater emphasis on competencies and ability to do the job rather than just having the required education and skills levels. Education and perceived skill and ability are no longer sufficient. This approach in terms of the EE Act may be deemed to be discriminatory. There is a need to establish if an employee or potential employee has the required competencies to do the job and can show these competencies exist.

There is a need to collect information based on knowledge, motivation and behaviour of current employees that enable them to perform a job successfully. Skills audits must show not only that the employee has the necessary education and ability they need to establish that the required competencies exist and have been proven.

In other words, what an employee or applicant has done in the past, is a predictor of what he or she will do in the future and how he or she can be expected to perform in a work situation.

In order to establish the existence of the required competencies behavioural-type questions are used in the audit interview process.  These questions evolve around personal experiences of the applicant. In addition practical work related questions are used related to specific and pre-determined competencies to assist in establishing the existence of these essential competencies.   

Without identifying required competencies to do a specific job the skills audit becomes a waste of time and will bear no fruit. To be successful in this approach it is essential all positions have a selected set of competencies allocated and linked to OFO’s. This will apply to all current positions, when interviewing and selecting new employees and can be applied effectively when deciding on promotions within your company.