Competency Development
How can PEC help with competency development?
Connect people to the resources they need to do this independently and be successful. To achieve that we:
- A one hour consultation
- Connect you to resources including: a development plan for you to implement, advice for choosing or developing competency frameworks and competency assessment tools, and insights for you to hold discussions with disciplinary/field experts.
If you need more support or you would like to see PEC offer competency development as a service, please email us here.
The Basics
- What are “competencies”?
A competency is a defined level of competence in a particular job or academic program. It refers to someone’s set of skills or experience in some activity or domain.
An example can be found here.
- What is a competency list / framework?
Competency frameworks help to define the knowledge, skills and attitudes that scholars need in order to be successful in their program, their research and in their future careers. Funding agencies that support trainee development increasingly call for evaluation of those programs and evidence of trainee progress. As a result, there is a growing need for standards and tools for their assessment to bring clarity and structure to those programs.
- For what contexts are competencies applicable?
Competency frameworks and assessments are applicable to any space with specific learning goals or objectives, where you want to align these goals with your activities, provide learners with targeted support, track learner progress and reflect on the outcomes of your efforts.
Example: Training Programs
What are the benefits of defining competencies for your trainees and your training program?
- Makes expectations clear
- Facilitates conversations about trainee progress, individual development plan (IDP) conversations about progress can be more specific
- Ensure that training activities will promote competency development
- Allows for intentionality in adding/designing activities to promote competencies
How can competencies be used in training programs?
- Help administrators communicate expectations for trainees clearly
- Assist administrators in designing specific activities to facilitate development of the competencies
- Allows for efficient assessment of trainees’ progress
- Initiates conversations between mentors and mentees about their progress
- Facilitates meaningful and specific conversations about individual development plans (IDP)
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