Sunday, July 8, 2012

“Qualifications versus Competencies” - Professor M.S.Rao


“If my dreams can happen to me, your dreams can happen to you.  Champions are not made on the track or field; champions are made by the things you accomplish and the way you use your abilities in everyday life situations.” - Bob Beamon, Former world-record long jumper & track coach at Florida Atlantic University


Recently a student of mine asked me a question, “Sir, what is the difference between qualifications and competencies?”  I asked him, “Do you know how to drive a car?”  He replied, “Sir, I got trained and acquired the driving license but I am still not confident to drive a car.”  I said, “That means you have qualification, not competence.” By then my student understood the difference between qualification and competence.

In fact, education gives you qualification to enter into corporate world but you need to acquire competencies in the workplace.  There are educators who are not PhD holders but are much superior to PhD holders as they have competencies, not qualifications.  There are college drop-outs who are CEOs of Fortune 500 companies as they have competencies, not qualifications.  Therefore, having both qualifications and competencies helps immensely but people can still excel through competencies rather than qualifications.



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Dear readers,

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2 comments:

  1. I like your answer because it simplifies the meaning. I will use this example to explain te difference to my students.

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  2. A very simple and very clear explanation, Prof. Rao; very well done. Qualification comes through the proven development of understanding the theoretical concepts while competency comes through the theoretical concepts practical application.

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