Learning in the workplace – an instrument for competence assessment

The presented instrument for competence assessment is used in an attempt to make a systematic assessment of what and how much has been learned by an individual employee at a certain point of time in his/her career within an enterprise. Competencies in different work areas are treated: handling functional work tasks, managing disturbances, prioritising, co‐operating, organising, and achieving quality and environmental targets. All competencies are assessed on a scale measuring level of competence as cognitive complexity. Application of the instrument involves conducting a structured interview where the means‐goal relationship in different work activities is investigated in detail. A quantitative analysis of level of competence in each work area, ranging from behavioural routines to the extent to which an individual contributes to developing and changing his/her task, is then performed. The results of two different tests of inter‐rater reliability and six tests of validity (content, face and criterion validity) are presented. It is concluded that the instrument is adequately valid and reliable.