A nonconformance is investigated. The operator involved has a signed training record for the procedure. On paper, everything was in place.

Yet the problem still happened. When the investigation goes further, it turns out the operator had read the procedure and signed for it, but had never been shown how to set up that particular job, and nobody had checked whether they could.

This is the difference between training and competence.

Training is an activity. Competence is the outcome.

Training is something that happens: a session, a briefing, reading a procedure, working alongside an experienced colleague.

Competence is the ability to apply knowledge and skills to achieve the intended result. It is what you actually need.

Training is one way to build competence. Experience, education, coaching and supervised practice are others. But a record that training took place does not, on its own, show that someone can do the work reliably.

Start with what each role requires

Competence can only be confirmed against something. For the roles that affect quality, define what competence looks like in practice:

  • What tasks, decisions and checks does the role involve?
  • Which of these are critical, where a mistake would be costly or hard to detect?
  • What knowledge and skills are needed to perform them well?
  • Are there qualifications or certifications the work or the customer requires?

This does not need to be elaborate. For many roles, a short list of critical tasks and the standard expected for each is enough.

Close the gaps in the right way

Once requirements are clear, compare them with what each person can currently demonstrate. Where gaps exist, choose a development method suited to the task. For a practical skill, this may involve structured on-the-job training, coaching, supervised practice or learning from an experienced colleague rather than a classroom session alone.

Until the required competence has been demonstrated, define the appropriate level of supervision and checking. Where the task requires formal qualification or authorization, independent work must not begin until the applicable conditions have been met and the designated authority has approved it. This is particularly important for new starters, temporary staff and people moving into new roles.

Confirm competence based on evidence

The key question is not whether training was delivered, but whether the person can now perform the work to the required standard.

That should be based on evidence, such as observing the person doing the task, reviewing the quality of their work over a period, a practical demonstration or a check by someone qualified to judge.

Keep it current

Competence is not permanent. Processes change, new equipment arrives, customer requirements evolve and skills fade if they are not used. Review competence when something changes, and use what you learn from nonconformities, complaints and audits. Repeated errors in one area often point to a competence gap, not simply a person who "needs retraining".

A simple competence or skills matrix can help you see where you depend on one person, where cover is thin and where development is needed.

What about the records?

Records still matter. If your organization is pursuing ISO 9001 certification, the standard requires it to determine the necessary competence of people whose work affects quality, ensure they are competent on the basis of appropriate education, training or experience, take action to acquire the necessary competence where applicable, evaluate the effectiveness of that action, and retain appropriate documented information as evidence of competence.

The point is that the records should reflect real competence. A signature that someone has read a procedure is weaker evidence than a record that they were observed performing the task correctly.

The bottom line

Training records show that something happened. Competence shows that people can do the work. Define what each role requires, build capability in the way that works best for the task, confirm it based on evidence and keep it current. That is what protects your customers. A practical QMS connects competence requirements to the actual tasks, controls and decisions people must perform.

Want a starting view of how competence is managed in your organization? The free QMS Readiness & Maturity Scorecard gives you an initial picture across key areas of your system. Use it as a starting point, then validate the results against what actually happens in practice.