From work to training. Case study on the design of a training standard

• Author: E. Cocorada/M. Pavalache-Ilie
• Position: Department of Psychology and Training in Education, Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania
• Pages: 9-20

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov,

Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 7 (56) No. 2- 2014

FROM WORK TO TRAINING. CASE STUDY

ON THE DESIGN OF A TRAINING

STANDARD

E. COCORADĂ1 M. PAVALACHE-ILIE1

Abstract: The approach of training based on competence has gained

popularity as an alternative to the behaviourist approach, based on objectives

and much closer to the taylorist conception on work. During the last decades,

standards of professional activities have been designed using competences.

These are competence, training and certification standards which highlight the

relation between work and training and allow the personalisation of training

and the mobility of workers. This article is to describe a training standard. Due

to the fact that this instrument is not yet used in Romania, we present a mini-

case study for the occupation of manufacturer-assembler of textile fabrics.

Key words: Competence, training standard, manufacturer assembler of

textile fabrics.

1 Department of Psychology and Training in Education, Transilvania University of Braşov, Romania.

1. Introduction

In the last two decades of the former

century, the educational approach based on

competences has gained popularity as an

alternative to the old behaviourist approach

[8], [10].

In the numerous published papers, the

definitions of ‘competence’, although

similar, are not identical. They describe the

types of situations which have to be

mastered in order to obtain the expected

results, considering the rules and

limitations under the circumstances of the

existence of some cognitive resources [20]

or the possibility to act by combining

‘savoir agir’ (knowing how to act), vouloir

agir (wanting to act), pouvoir agir (being

able to act) [14].

Competences are potential resources

used to manufacture a product or to

complete a task, in a given organisational

context, using the means provided by the

company [22], [24]. The following are

almost unanimously acknowledged as

components of competence (i) knowledge

(ii) abilities and (iii) attitudes, values or

personal traits [24]. In the attitudes

category, the responsibility and autonomy

of the worker play a special part [28]. The

two features make the difference between

the mediocre worker and the excellent one,

and were named ‘competency’ by some

authors, in order to be differentiated from

the superordinate and integrative term

‘competence’ [5], [25]. According to some

opinions, ‘competence’ refers to the global

mastery of a situation, but it remains

unobserved, as in a ‘black box’,

characterised as a ‘strange attractor’ [13],

[12]. The competences defined as such

have begun to be used in order to describe