Having the ability to perform a task or hold a position does not necessarily mean that you have the competence to do it. So What is the difference between one and the other and how do you turn abilities into skills? Knowledge applicable in the world of work but also in any other discipline that requires know-how, with specific types and formats of training that facilitate this transition from potential to action. Let's take stock.
Understand the difference between skill and ability
To implement actions to transform abilities into skills, you must first be able to differentiate between the two contexts. According to the definition, Capacity is a matter of mental surgery. It is similar to the thought mechanism implemented by individuals when they use their intelligence in a given context.. In this case, we are talking about several types of capacity: that of understanding, the capacity to create or even the capacity to adapt. For Philippe Meirieu, a specialist in educational sciences and pedagogy, an ability is a “stabilized and reproducible intellectual activity in various fields of knowledge.”, a competence is “an identified knowledge involving one or more abilities, in a specific notional or disciplinary field.” Competence, on the other hand, lies rather in the concept of action. It allows problem solving. When using skills, a person calls upon and combines a number of resources.
To differentiate the two, we can say that Rather, competence is linked to jobs or more generally to professional situations and all everyday situations that involve problem solving. Competence would include “knowledge, know-how and interpersonal skills” that merge more or less effectively depending on whether the person is junior or more expert. Capacity, on the other hand, is rather a more transversal or global skill, which can be used in a variety of professional or social contexts. Knowing how to do an accounting balance sheet is a skill, be effective when working from home is an ability.
-> Making a difference
1 - skill : linked to professions or more generally to professional situations
2 - Capacity : a more transversal or global skill, which can be used in a variety of professional or social contexts
Use work situations in training
A training plan that uses work situations is based on real practices. In this context, employees learn during their training to understand the rules that must be followed for each of their actions. At the same time, it develops strategies for dealing with new work situations. To simplify, Using critical thinking, putting words and interpreting work situations or past professional experiences makes it possible to transform knowledge into power (knowing how to act VS being able to act). In this learning context, mentalization and formalization of the activity help to develop professional skills.
-> What steps?
1 - Identify work situations that can be the subject of training scenarios to be analyzed
2 - Bring together all the elements that will allow the learner to analyze the work situation objectively in order to propose hypotheses
3 - Use short sequences to divide the analyzed situation into micro actions
Learning at work
In this learning context, which is more commonly observed within organizations, training actions are generally integrated into production activities. This training context is therefore primarily aimed at employees or working groups created as part of the training. The main objective of training in work situations is generally to improve the performance and productivity of employees. In this case we also talk about in-context training, where the Mobile learning is also often used, in particular for learning and developing technical skills. Learning in work situations can take several forms, such as coaching, action learning, challenge-based learning or quality circles.
1 - Identify areas for improvement in given work situations, particularly in terms of production
2 - Determine the appropriate tools to enable the acquisition of skills in context
3 - Measuring the impact of skill learning before and after
Training through a work situation
Transforming abilities into skills can finally be achieved through work situations. It's simply about put the learner in contact with the real work situation so that he can move from theory to practice. Because it is not, in many cases, in a training room or on the university benches that you really learn to do. In real situations, we learn a lot, for example, through social learning and informal learning. This is exactly the kind of mechanism found with flight simulators for pilots, for example. In fact, there is a way to transform abilities into skills by putting them into a work situation that most people have known: the internship! A way to learn a job and acquire the related skills in a situation, with a net. In a company, setting up a work situation can involve a job test., for example in a context of internal mobility, in order to assess the learner's ability to perform this function.
-> What steps?
1 - Identify the position corresponding to the acquisition of the required skills
2 - Put the learner in real working conditions, through the use of tools and integration into a team for example.
