What’s the difference between Training and Competence?
Training is an environment in which people practice techniques to acquire skills. A seminar in which the participants do nothing except listen to a presenter may be education but it is not training. There has to be acquisition of skill not simply knowledge. However, a trained person is not necessarily a competent person.
Competence is the ability to demonstrate use of education, skills and behaviours to achieve the results required for a job. A person may have acquired the necessary skill under classroom conditions, but in the environment where that skill needs to be applied, the person might be ill equipped due to other factors that affect his/her ability to do the job. When the qualified person is able to produce the results required of a job can that person be said to be competent.
The transition from training to competence is a transition in which acquired skills and knowledge are transformed into capability. Competence is concerned with outcomes rather than attributed abilities.