“We see the need to change to a competency-based approach but this is a big step and we couldn’t fit it into the current timescale,” says Woods.
The word 'competency' is a weasel word that has emerged in the past few years. On the surface, it sounds as if you are training people to be competent in the job, in the same way that you always have but ... it doesn't work out that way.
In a TOTALLY unrelated field, the training has also moved over to 'competencies' and the results are dire. Fifteen years ago, for a specialist job, myself and two colleagues wrote the qualities needed and the skills that must be acquired onto a single peice of A4 paper. Now they have been rewritten by a special consultant (£ x Thousands) and cover 34 pages. Meanwhile, the people emerging from the training are not a patch on the previous candidates.
In all areas, companies want to reduce costs and boost productivity and will use any words and methods to do that. Whenever you hear the MD of a company say things, "Everything wil continue as before" "We are moving into a new era of high standards" and "Your jobs are safe", is the time to start updating your CV.
Concise Oxford Dictionary 10th Edition
competence (also competency)
· n.
1 the quality or extent of being competent.
2 Linguistics a person’s subconscious knowledge of the rules governing the formation of speech in their first language. Often contrasted with performance.
3 dated an income large enough to live on.
I write as a non pilot and 50% South African and feel very sad and worried about this development.