Does Training Ensure a Competent Workforce?
As our energy industry moves towards Net Zero it is faced with the challenge of ensuring a skilled workforce.
As a company that provides both training and ‘competence certification’ to people in the offshore energy industry MTCS are often faced with the question from individuals who ask “Will a Training course provide me with a ‘certificate of competence’?”
The answer to this question is NO, training alone will not make a person competent!
Competence may be defined as having knowledge, skills and experience in a particular task.
Training does, however, play a vital role in the journey to competence in that it provides an individual with knowledge of the subject matter and often provides the opportunity for this to be assessed in the form of an exam. Training can also provide the opportunity to develop some skills, often using simulation or role play.
What training does NOT do is provide the opportunity for an individual to gain concrete experience and reflect on what has been studied in the training environment.
In order to realise a competent workforce it is now critical to address how we measure the vital ingredient ‘experience’ in the workplace in order to bridge the gap between training and competence. Experience is always a vital pre-requisite in any recruitment program and is normally measured in hours and recorded in log books or even the sometimes dubious CV.
A well structured competence program is a good start.
In summary, a competence program will provide the opportunity for individuals to undergo work placed assessment, carried out by trained and qualified skills assessors (e.g. Supervisors and Team Leaders). Assessment will take place during real work activities and make use of a range of ‘assessment’ techniques that are relevant to the task.
Most importantly it will provide the opportunity for the individual to receive feedback on their performance and identify areas of improvement.
We recognise that training alone does not infer competence and that many organisations invest huge amounts of money into training but have no real measure of its effectiveness.
Whilst holding a valid Certificate of Competence is mandatory for many roles, we believe it is important for our clients to appreciate the value a well-structured competence program brings to an organisation.
What is a competence program?
A competence program is essentially a structured learning and development path for personnel as they progress through their career. It provides ‘Continuous Professional Development’ which is a requirement within many quality standards within the ISO range of quality standards.
It consists of a range of documentation that may be hosted on a dedicated online Learning & Management System (LMS). Documentation typically includes:
- Standards of competence
- Guidance on what may be assessed including ‘Range Statements’
- Assessment planning and feedback forms
- Examples of underpinning knowledge questions
- Record sheets
- A range of support and guidance documentation
The full MTCS Competence Program can be viewed on MTCS Online.
You will need to create a new user account if you do not already have one, however there is no charge or commitment necessary.
Just go to: https://online.mtcs.info/ click ‘Create new account’ and follow the instructions. Once in your account head to ‘Guidance Docs’ and then ‘Grade Assessment (GA) Documentation’.
The GA Assessment and Verification Process
Arguably the documentation within a competence scheme may take many forms and can be highly complex and quite overbearing. MTCS believe in keeping documentation simple and easy to use is most important.
Then process of assessment and verification however is critical and good assessment practice is key to the success of any competence program.
We always start by recommending clients begin by training key personnel (Worksite Supervisors and Team Leaders) to become qualified Skills Assessors.
Further details on this training can be found on our website at https://mtcsuk.com/mtcs-online/skills-assessor/ or https://mtcsuk.com/corporate-training/
Assessment at the Worksite
Assessment must take place at the worksite in what is referred to as the contextual environment. Individuals will discuss with their assessor what tasks/performance criteria may or may not be assessed and at what stage of the project assessment of those tasks may take place.
It is important that the assessment takes place during routine activities within the project.
Whilst simulation is acceptable it is normally only carried out when no real activity can take place.
Individuals working towards a Certificate of Competence will be expected to gather ‘evidence’ relating to the activities they have carried out. Evidence may include:
- copies of log sheets
- safety documentation
- maintenance logs
- photographs
- operational logs
- and even video that may support the activities they have carried out.
This evidence may be scanned and uploaded to their MTCS Online account.
A vital part of the assessment process is feedback from the Assessor. This identifies what went well or perhaps not so well and identifies an action plan to help the individual ultimately achieve competence.
Assessment will take place over a range of activities and may take between 6 and 12 months to achieve competence.
Once sufficient evidence has been collated and all the competence criteria has been met then the process known as verification must take place.
The verification process essentially looks at the quality of the assessment that has taken place and ensures consistent in accordance with national/international standards of assessment practice.
The verification process checks the quality of the evidence to ensure it does infer competence.
Successful verification then allows the individual to be awarded a Certificate of Competence. MTCS provide verification and certification within the MTCS Competence Scheme.
Further details on the assessment process can be found here on our website.
How does Training Fit into a Competence Program?
Whilst we have identified training alone does not make an individual competent, it does play a part in the individuals journey towards competence
Training is normally carried out at the beginning of the program and provides the individual with basic knowledge and perhaps some of the skills required in the job role.
It will also provide the opportunity for some form of assessment and feedback on where the individual needs to improve.
Assessment of knowledge is normally carried out by written/online exam, or in some cases oral questioning in the form of an interview.
Training may take place later on in the competence journey and forms a very important part of the individuals development.
This type of training tends to be very specific and perhaps focuses on dedicated equipment that the individual is required to use. For individuals preparing to move into a Supervisory role, some form of Leadership training will likely take place.
Practical assessment that may take place during initial training is not aimed at determining competence. It is providing the opportunity for the individual to ‘try out’ some of the concepts discussed in their training course.
The assessment that takes place during the training course may be carried out on real equipment and represent that which the individual will use in the worksite. The assessment however normally only takes place over a relatively short period of time and at one controlled environment i.e. at the training centre.
In order to be deemed competent assessment must take place over a range of activities over a period of time.
- Range may include
- Different equipment
- Different projects and teams
- Activities carried out under pressure e.g. fault finding
- Activities carried out in different weather conditions
To conclude it can be seen training does provide a vital role in the development of an individual and most definitely supports the competence journey.
It facilitates the development of knowledge, understanding and some practical skills in a safe and controlled environment.
Competence however can only be determined by assessment at the worksite in what is the contextual environment.
Look out for future articles by MTCS on the following:
- Experienced Personnel – how to verify their competence the ICA route
- The Assessment Process
- The Role of the Skills Assessor
- What is Verification?
- Are All My Employees Competent?
- The Route to Competence
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