ComProCom: a revised model of occupational competence
ISSN: 0040-0912
Article publication date: 26 March 2018
Issue publication date: 12 April 2018
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe a revised approach describing occupational competence, with particular reference to its application in two European countries at the level of specific occupational fields and in relation to the models used in national vocational education and training (VET) systems.
Design/methodology/approach
An Erasmus+ project involved partners in five countries developing and trialling competence standards, following principles developed from approaches that have recently emerged in some British self-governing professions.
Findings
The model used in the project avoids the narrowness that was characteristic of earlier British approaches to occupational competence. It provides a template that can be used for articulating the essentials of practice, including in emerging fields and those that cut across professions and occupations. It is also flexible enough to provide underpinnings for different types of VET system without making assumptions about the way that economies, labour markets and education systems are organised.
Practical implications
A number of factors are outlined that improve the applicability of practice-based competence descriptions, including starting from occupational fields rather than job roles, focussing on the ethos and core activities of the field, and using concise and precise descriptions that are not limited to specific roles and contexts.
Originality/value
A tested, practice-based model of competence is put forward that can be applied at the level of broad professional or occupational fields, is neutral in respect of national labour markets and educational systems, and offers a means of developing a common “language” of competence at a European level.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
ComProCom is a European Union Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership Project (2015-1-EL01-KA202-013960) comprising the Hellenic Agency for Local Development and Local Government (EETAA), Greece (the project leader); SBG-Dresden, Germany; the Irish Institute of Training and Development (IITD); the National Research Institute for Sustainable Technologies (ITeE-PIB), Poland; die Berater, Austria; and Stan Lester Developments, UK. Thanks are due to the other members of the partnership who contributed to the developments discussed in this paper, in particular Georgia Gonou (EETAA), Jens Hoffmann, Anke Menning and Sven Ebert (SBG-Dresden), Erol Koc (die Berater), and Sinead Heneghan and Angela O’Donovan (IITD), as well as Dr Georg Hanf (formerly of BIBB) who acted as a critical friend to the project and reviewed the manuscript. ComProCom was supported by funding from the European Commission’s Erasmus+ programme, via the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY) in Greece. European Commission support does not constitute an endorsement of the contents of this paper, which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained in it.
Citation
Lester, S., Koniotaki, A. and Religa, J. (2018), "ComProCom: a revised model of occupational competence", Education + Training, Vol. 60 No. 4, pp. 290-302. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-01-2018-0024
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited