Today, managers often talk about the professional competence of their employees. What does this concept mean?
Professional competence is the sum of accumulated experience and knowledge gained, allowing a person to quickly solve tasks in the professional field.
Competence, scientifically speaking, consists of a set of competencies. And this term is ambiguous.
Competence, firstly, indicates the personal ability of the employee to solve production issues. Sometimes it happens that the competence of a person who has no education, but has worked in the industry for many years, exceeds the competence of a certified specialist. It consists of theoretical knowledge of the object (activity) and practical skills with it.
In addition, the term "competency" refers to the amount of requirements that are presented to a particular specialist. Usually in this meaning the term is used when hiring or certifying specialists. The sum of all competencies is precisely the concept of “professional competence”. In other words, this concept can be considered as a summary personality profile that reflects the education received, accumulated experience and a number of personal qualities that make it possible to cope with professional duties.
The structure of professional competence is divided into:
- Professional qualifications.
- Personal characteristics important for the performance of professional duties.
- Social and professional status.
The division of the concept of “professional competence” into theoretical concepts and practical components allows us to create a more detailed picture of it.
Theoretical knowledge of the subject matter or terms of reference include:
- Theoretical understanding of what a specific professional qualification means.
- Theoretical concepts of professional status.
- Representations of professional features.
Ways to work with objects can also be structured.
- Methods of organizing professional specialization.
- Ways to implement the status.
- Ways to implement professional features.
However, it cannot be said that the concept of “professional competence” is unambiguous. Different specialists studying pedagogy, psychology, sociology, interpret it differently.
Some of them believe that the term denotes the sum of cognitive activity and professional activity. The high level of development of these factors reduces the mental tension of the specialist, increases the emotional state of the ego, helps to accumulate experience and successfully pass the chain "student (student, trainee) - young specialist - professional - high-level professional."
Other specialists are trying to recognize the concept of "professional competence" as the ability to act adequately, independently, in any situation related to the profession. This, in turn, necessarily requires a readiness for self-improvement not only in the professional, but also in related fields.
Most experts agree that professional competence includes the following series of components in its structure:
- Gnostic (professional qualities).
- Value-semantic (these include the installation of a specialist).
- Active (professional skills).
- Personal (character traits that help professional growth).
Professional competence in combination with manufacturability, skills, general and professional culture, innovative approach to activities is an integral part of professionalism.