TECHNICAL COMPETENCY IN INDUSTRY

July 21, 2014

The “TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GUIDE FOR DEVELOPING AND USING COMPETENCY MODELS – ONE SOLUTION FOR THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM” published as a resource for the stakeholders and partners of the public workforce development system supported by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration defines “competency” as:

A competency is the capability to apply or use a set of related knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform “critical work functions” or tasks in a defined work setting. Not to be confused with competence, a competency describes a behavior, but does not attempt to describe a level of performance.

Competencies often serve as the basis for skill standards that specify the level of knowledge, skills, and abilities required for success in the workplace, as well as potential measurement criteria for assessing competency attainment.

In industry, applied technical competency is the foundation for increasing productivity and quality while minimizing downtime and re-work.

Knowledgeably designed multi-sensory learning (full motion video, animations, simulations and optional word-for-word audio) is created to improve technical competence. Such courses use workplace situations and terminology, providing an atmosphere of practicality for the trainee.

With knowledgeably designed multi-sensory learning, employees understand the course material faster with increased retention, allowing them to apply more of their new skills on-the-job. Interactive multi-sensory learning also allows trainees to learn at their own pace which gives organizations the flexibility to schedule training to meet individual needs.

Avoid those courses that convey most of their instruction through words, phrases and sentences. As we have well learned by now, more than 40% of our workforce does not assimilate anything written above a 4th grade reading level.

Bear in mind that the learning culture of your trainees’ lives has centered around television, computers, tablets and smart phones. Today, insightful individuals have adopted the multi-sensory experience to those platforms in order to maximize the training values.

Bottom line: If you are truly committed to training initiatives that will enhance applied technical competency, multi-sensory learning should be your choice.

More on Wednesday – – – – –

— Bill Walton, co-Founder of ITC Learning
bwalton@itclearning.com

“THE WORLD RELIES ON THE HANDS OF ITS MEN AND WOMEN”