Difference Between Skills and Competencies

We have already established the difference between capacity, competence and skill, let’s go to the second point: the differences between skills and competences. We have already said that both -skill and competence- suppose that this imaginary person programs in JAVA. The difference between skill and competence is therefore very subtle. It’s based on how you would accomplish that task. If the person does it taking into account the importance of the task, trying to improve and looking for optimal performance, it is that it is competence, if it simply performs it, it is skill. For your easy reminder, competence makes a person competent, ability does not. “Historical” differences between competencies, capacities and abilities Perhaps the greatest of all the differences that exist between competencies, capacities and abilities is of a historical type. Today the trend in Human Resources is to seek a balance between these three components. verschil vaardigheden en competenties However, we cannot forget that for many decades, companies have chosen to rely almost exclusively on the knowledge that candidates had acquired before accessing any recruitment process. Fortunately, this approach is now largely superseded. Why? Partly due to the commitment of companies in technology. To identify and make the most of the talent of the workforce, it is necessary to rely on the most innovative tools such as Human Resources software. We have prepared a complete guide that talks about the changes in talent management, organizational culture and the necessary systems to fully exploit the virtues of workers. Why distinguish between skills and competencies? Therefore, some care must be taken when bringing the concept of capacity to the world of work: the fact that everyone has a certain capacity to learn and develop does not mean that each and every one of your candidates or employees has capacities. for everything. Although everyone can learn with effort, it is advisable to be practical. Let’s be more specific: To differentiate ability and competence in the world of Human Resources, it is better to set certain limits to the former. The capacity is not absolute, for example, a programmer can learn another programming language – he has the capacity – but it does not make sense to think that someone in marketing has the same capacity. Distinguishing skills and competencies allow setting growth plans and favors mobility Precisely to favor the movement between jobs. An employee may want to move to a position close to his own. If you determine that he has the ability to learn what is required in that position, you can help him get it. Maybe you want to fill a position? Look for employees who have the skills to learn what is required in that position. Allows you to set realistic goals There are certain qualities that are not so important in a job. Instead of getting frustrated looking for the perfect employee, you can lower your expectations and hope that those competencies are simply skills. Skills and competencies determine the employability of the candidate But what exactly is the employability of a person? The term ‘ employability ‘ refers to the potential that an individual has to access a job , develop in it and reorient themselves towards another, both based on the expectations they have about their professional career and in the event of losing the first. Difference between internal and external employability Brought to HR management. H H. , the concept of employability has two aspects: Internal employability: indicates the level of competitiveness that a worker has within his company. External employability: measures the level of competitiveness of a worker in the labor market. What does employability depend on? Both are influenced by both external factors and others that depend on the employee himself: External factors are those that depend on the labor market -such as the balance between supply and demand, gender or age inequalities, etc. Instead, they are in the hands of the worker himself: his levels of training, competence, and adaptability to the demands of employers.How to identify skills and competencies To identify the skills and competencies of the candidates we recommend using a recruitment software, as we have discussed during the article. However, the identification of skills and competencies does not end with the hiring of the applicant. Talent management has only just begun. Once incorporated into the work team, the performance of each employee must be supervised. Do you have the experience you were bragging about? Does it give us that differential advantage in terms of talent? Something that can be carried out through performance evaluation software that, among other things, avoids bias and streamlines all management (generating reports, favoring performance meetings…). It is an automated system with very interesting functionalities for companies. One of them, for example, is the analysis between performance vs. potential. How the employee is currently working (knowing if he meets objectives) with respect to the potential for growth and explosion of talent in the future. In short, a tool for managing talent that not only makes it possible to assess the job skills (and performance) of each employee, but also allows them to plan their career plan and see if they need to develop their strengths or train their weaknesses to meet the expectations. Practical example of the difference between skills, competencies and capabilities For example, this means that someone may have the skills to learn to program in JAVA, but if they have not yet learned this language, we cannot expect them to start programming without first going through a learning process. Therefore, we cannot speak of competence or ability. But of CAPACITY. That said, all human beings are distinguished by having some kind of innate skill (or skills to a greater or lesser extent). However, not all of us have the same capacity to carry out the same activities. Precisely from there comes the diversification of jobs, vocation, etc.