Education and learning are truly successful only when the knowledge honed serves to tackle real-life challenges.  While this is no newfound wisdom, most of our academic programs offline and online are yet to fully recognize the importance of training learners for specific competencies. Students graduating from professional courses, though armed with theoretical subject expertise, are rarely industry-ready. Year after year, we find that engineering graduates mostly prefer jobs in IT and other core sectors, but just a handful of them have the necessary skills.

The once-popular HR mantra “Hire for attitude and train for skills” is no longer feasible. This is mainly because of the high attrition rates, especially in Technology, Retail, Telecommunication, and other sectors. An increasingly competitive work environment has made it mandatory for the employed and job seekers alike to suitably upskill for their dream jobs.  It is time for Learning Professionals to focus their efforts on designing training and learning programs that build student competencies to service the growing demand for Competency-Based Training (CBT).

What is a Competency?

A competency or competence is best defined as demonstrable skill or subject-expertise that influences an individual’s performance.  Individuals can develop different competencies but their level of competence proves to be one of the deciding factors when it comes to hiring or appointing a suitable candidate for a particular task or role.  Developing the right set of competencies is essential for a successful long-term career in a chosen field.

How CBT Differs from Traditional Training?

Traditional training has always been about building a strong foundation of basic knowledge, personal and social skills.  Primary and secondary schools expose students to different avenues of learning and encourage them to identify and excel in their interests. However, assessments, grading, and academic progress are not strictly based on competencies during the early stages of learning. Conventional training does involve hands-on-learning and practical training that relate to real-life application of knowledge as well.

Further traditional education for the major part is:

• Generic.
• Not learner-centric.
• For a fixed duration.

CBT, on the hand, focuses on:

• Specific competencies or skills.
• Self-paced learning.
• Enabling continuous upskilling, building on acquired proficiencies.

Significance of CBT in higher education and corporate training programs

Training for competencies has become imperative as text-book knowledge alone does not suffice when it comes to surviving in the real world.  The ability to apply industry know-how, adapt, and improvise to address problems at hand is the key factor that differentiates top performers from average workers.
While a host of new competency-models and frameworks strive to standardize training and offer a level playing field for aspiring students, not all digital learning programs train for or assess competencies.

CBT in higher education, as well as corporate training programs, can make a significant difference in terms of:

• Employability of fresh graduates.
• Building a qualified and competent talent pool.
• Training new hires for their roles.
• Upskilling resources for career progressions or specific roles.
• Keeping pace with the latest industry-specific developments.

While higher education is not cheap, corporate training costs often prove daunting.  Training for specific demonstrable competencies ensures that training costs are affordable and justified as the skill-gaps are usually addressed well.

What makes CBT Effective?

Competency-based training tends to be effective as it is designed to achieve a set of pre-defined competencies. Trainees work towards specific learning goals (including the ability to put learning to apt use) to complete the course.  CBTs are not about just sitting through a class and clearing exams. There is a tangible result at the end of the course and not just a certificate.

The training is learner-centric and not solely driven by the trainer.  While many of the corporate CBT courses are short-term, some of the regular higher education programs also train for competencies.  CBT is usually self-paced and learners are assessed based on their ability to demonstrate their proficiency, only when they are ready for it.

Building a digital CBT program

Building a digital CBT program is easier said than done. Extensive ground-work is a must to first identify the set of competencies that the training program will address.  Here’s a sample that can serve as a good starting point. There are quite a few Competency Frameworks for higher learning that are currently in use. MOODLE too has a Competency Framework repository that can come in handy when creating CBTs using reliable open-source Learning Management Systems such as ScholarLMS.

Designing CBT programs for the workplace is a different challenge that still needs the management to identify competencies specific to organizational goals or different roles within the company.  The Human Resources (HR) Department of a company uses Competency Models Recruitment, corporate training and other HR functions.  HR teams build competency models by carefully analyzing the:

• Competencies that are required for a particular role or task
• Skills of top performers in a specific role and
• Basic competencies that reflect the company’s values

Routine competency assessments help employers find and bridge skill gaps via corporate training programs that offer personalized learning paths to build specific competencies.

Evaluating and Grading Competencies

Assessment methodologies in CBT programs go way beyond exams and quizzes. With technology offering a host of options for live online interactions,  it may no longer be a problem to assess learners on their ability to apply newly-acquired skills/knowledge in real-time.  Subject-experts, peers, superiors, or even subordinates get to review competencies if they qualify for the role.  In a corporate setting, employers often use performance assessments, client feedback, and other similar factors to evaluate competencies.

Competency-based training is a continuous process. It is a well-known fact that the knowledge or skills that individuals acquire are not applicable forever.  This is also quite evident from the fact that CBT evaluations only rate trainees on their current competency levels.  Trainees do not pass or fail the assessment. There is always scope for improvement until one has mastered the expected competency; however, competency-based career progression is likely to happen slowly but steadily!