Glossary
What is Competency Development?
- Competency Development
Competency development is the development of knowledge, skills, and the ability to apply them in practice. It can take place through courses, work experience, mentoring, and reflection. In the workplace, the term encompasses both an individual’s professional development and the organization’s efforts to address new or changing competency needs.
- Also known as: skill development, skill enhancement
Learning Through Work and Training
The term encompasses both organized activities and learning that occurs when employees experiment, reflect, and receive guidance on the job. Upskilling builds on existing skills, while reskilling focuses on other roles or tasks. Both are forms of skills development, not alternative names for the concept as a whole.
Example: Skills development
Example: Competency development
An employee is to be given responsibility for smaller projects. A course provides the technical foundation, an experienced colleague offers guidance along the way, and the employee applies the methods in a project. Experiences and feedback lead to new insights. Development occurs through the combination of the course and practical application on the job.
Read more about Upskilling with XtraMile.