The long-established practice of skills assessments is now undergoing significant changes. The way employees are evaluated and guided in their career paths is now shifting towards a competency-based approach. This method values each person's knowledge and potential differently, offering more flexibility, aiding career transitions, and creating varied opportunities.
By placing competencies at the core, this approach ensures that employees are recognised fairly and have better alignment with the job market expectations. Let's explore how this method shapes career paths and opens new opportunities to meet the challenges of today's work environment.
Importance of Competency-Based Approach in Skills Assessments
Previously focused on a job-based approach, employees now recognize the need to adapt to the challenges of the modern work environment. A major reason for this is the uncertainty due to the changing nature of jobs, making it hard to set reliable benchmarks for analysing employee performance.
Studies show that nearly one in three skills needed for a job in 2018 is no longer needed today. Furthermore, "technical skills" once seen as an essential and reliable measure of an individual’s capabilities have lost their credibility. They no longer provide a solid foundation for evaluating employees.
Soft Skills: The New Core of Skills Assessments
Currently, assessments focus less on the mastery of specific technical skills and more on an individual's ability to unlearn old skills, learn new ones, stay proactive, and apply new knowledge to their work environment. Therefore, the focus of assessments has shifted to what an individual "knows how to be" rather than what they "know how to do."
These valuable soft skills are measured through what are known as transversal skills. These skills enable easy transitions between different jobs and provide a comprehensive view of an individual by valuing who they are and their potential for growth. The competency-based approach considers the individual as a whole, giving meaning to their career path and utilising all their knowledge to create new opportunities.
Benefits of the Competency-Based Approach
1. Valuing Diverse Experiences
The competency-based approach values all of an individual's experiences, both professional and personal. This new perspective highlights an individual's potential by considering their skills and valuing their unique career paths.
This includes uncommon skills, like the so-called "mad skills", often overlooked in a job-based approach but add real value to the job expectations. These "mad skills" and unique competencies arising from specific passions or life experiences of an individual, add significant value to their work. For example, a project manager who has gone on expeditions in extreme conditions can bring skills such as stress management and complex problem-solving to the workplace.
2. Aligning individuals with Job Market
The professional landscape is rapidly evolving due to technological advances and emerging occupational demands. The competency-based approach allows individuals to demonstrate key transversal skills, like critical thinking, communication, collaboration, learning agility, and stress management. By highlighting these essential skills, this approach better aligns individuals with the job market and also improves their employability.
3. Expanding Career Opportunities
The transversal nature of competencies makes career changes to new sectors and jobs easier, opening up more opportunities for individuals. This approach expands possibilities, offering projects that are aligned with an individual's aspirations and talents.
Skills Assessment, a Powerful Tool for Professional Development
The competency-based approach in skills assessments provides a fresh perspective on individuals' potential. By focusing on soft skills and transversal competencies, this method allows for better alignment with the job market needs while valuing the diversity of individual career paths.
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