5 Key Concepts of Competency-Based Learning to Drive Outcomes

Bring relevancy to training programs with a competency-based approach

While I was in grad school, I worked for a major car dealership sourcing used cars from online auctions. I looked at hundreds of cars a day, determining their value and sending details of the best to the appropriate buyer. My knowledge of cars—brands, models, safety features, performance metrics, industry trends—grew rapidly, and then I was asked to cross-train as a salesperson on one of our lots.

During the subsequent two-week-long training, I realized quickly that I already possessed mastery of many concepts. The in-person instructor noticed. On day three of training, they allowed me to jump onto the sales floor and apply my knowledge to the real-world several days sooner than expected.

I didn’t know it at the time, but the instructor was utilizing a teaching method called competency-based learning (CBL)—a method where learner progression is measured by mastery of concepts rather than hours in a classroom. While this method has already been popularized in schools across the globe, the corporate e-learning industry has yet to embrace it fully.

In this post, learn the definition, benefits, and key concepts of competency-based learning methods, and explore how to apply those concepts to make a more personalized, efficient, and relevant workplace training program.

What is competency-based learning?

To fully understand the concept of competency-based education, it’s important to clarify the meaning of competence. Competency is measured as the learner’s ability to consistently apply knowledge to provide solutions to real-life situations.

When approached from a learning perspective, competency-based learning measures progression from one level to the next based on mastery of concepts rather than time spent in a seat. Learners are not allowed to move on to the next level until they demonstrate mastery in the last level, creating a dynamic, efficient, and relevant learning model.

Examples from a classroom environment include how:

• Language arts students achieve mastery in smaller topics like research techniques, paragraph structure, and proper evidence citation on their way to mastering the essay process as a whole.
• Social studies students achieve mastery in the responsibilities of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government on their way to understanding government oversight in general.
• Mathematics students achieve mastery in the pythagorean theorem and concepts like area, perimeter, and volume on their way to understanding overall geometry principles.

Furthermore, soft skills like problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and personal awareness are designated as equally important concepts to master. This unique focus of CBL moves the emphasis from simply what to learn to how best to learn, creating more adaptable, diverse, and resilient learners.

Common use cases for corporate CBL

Competency-based education has a wide range of use cases, applicable to the most common corporate training programs. Read on for detailed examples.

• Soft skills training. Customer service reps undergo soft skills competency training to improve their active listening, problem-solving, and conflict resolution skills to better handle customer questions and complaints.
• Sales training. A tech development company includes competency training for their sales reps in product knowledge, customer relationship management (CRM), negotiation tactics, and closing the deal.
• Technical skills training. Developers at a software company undergo competency training in programming languages, system design, troubleshooting, and project management.
• Compliance training. Frontline healthcare or finance workers undergo competency training in topics like risk awareness, data privacy, and legal knowledge.
• Leadership training. A leadership development program for mid-level and senior managers includes competency requirements for topics like strategic thinking, communication, decision-making, and team leadership.

Now that we’ve covered what CBL is and the many use cases for its methods, let’s take a look at the five key concepts that make it so effective.

5 key concepts of competency-based learning

1. Outcome-driven progression

Mastery over seat time

Since learning progression is based on demonstrated skill mastery, and not time spent, learners gain a much deeper understanding of each concept. Learners test when they’re ready, not before they’ve reached mastery or two weeks later when knowledge retention is easily lost.

Defined competencies framework

With a clearly defined competency framework in place, learners can see their pathway to mastery. Topics are laid out in a logical progression, and learners are allowed to prove mastery multiple times, if needed, each time receiving valuable feedback from instructors.

Authentic assessments

Online assessments can help learners prove mastery through real-world tasks, portfolios, or performance-based tests.

In a school setting, this might look like:

• business students giving a final presentation to a local company to help build marketing campaigns geared towards younger consumers.
• language arts students compiling a poetry portfolio to submit to a local or national contest.
• fashion design students working with “clients” from other schools to develop and design the perfect prom dress.

In a corporate setting, this might look like:

• sales reps mastering the prospecting process using branching scenario training modules that help them understand how what they say and do affects a sale.
• manufacturing technicians mastering equipment safety procedures with the use of immersive 360° images.
• bartenders in training mastering mixology under pressure in a gamified training module.

2. Learner-centered and differentiated

Personalized pacing

Creating learner-centered opportunities in the workplace is increasingly important to employee retention efforts. In fact, 85 percent of employees agree that learning opportunities add genuine purpose to their work. Giving employees the chance to pace themselves—learning what they want, when they want to—emphasizes your organization’s efforts to personalize learning.

Tailored support

The CBL approach to learning means students likely aren’t finishing or beginning mastery of topics at the same time as other students. This reinforces the need for a consistent, flexible support system that involves instructor, peer, and mentor-based feedback when it’s needed.

Flexible learning pathways

Flexibility matters when providing learning opportunities for employees in organizations both large and small. A frontline service technician’s learning pathway looks different than a sales rep’s, just as a mid-level manager’s learning pathway differs from a senior-level manager. Oftentimes, less is more. Bite-sized content modules are perfect for in-the-moment learning, available exactly when employees are intrinsically motivated to learn.

Training tip: Microlearning modules provide multiple resources and varied approaches to bite-sized learning on the same topic. Learners can select from short videos, interactive infographics, interactive checklists, stepped navigation modules, and more. Whatever your training needs, creating course content fast enough for aspiring learners can be difficult.

3. Transparent standards and learner ownership

Clear expectations

Writing clear learning objectives—for both learners and other stakeholders—ensures expectations and measurements for competency are specific, measurable, and attainable. Many schools and organizations use the SMART goal method to write clear objectives, detailed below:

• Specific. Clear and focused objectives with no room for interpretation.
• Measurable. Success metrics should be able to be clearly demonstrated.
• Achievable. The objectives should be realistic and achievable.
• Relevant. Objectives should align with organizational goals and employee needs.
• Time-bound. A timeframe should be specified for the objective to be met.

Here are some examples of clear, measurable learning objectives:

• By the end of Q2, the sales team will be able to demonstrate mastery in the “overcoming common objections” training module. 

• Within four months, recordable injuries will be decreased by 15% through mastery of the “equipment safety” modules 1-5.

• By the end of unit three, 85 percent of learners will be able to demonstrate mastery of in-text citations in an essay format. 

Learner agency

Turning over control of progress to the learner promotes agency and ownership over the learning process. Learners themselves aren’t always the best at measuring their own progress, so accurate data tracking—paired with clear learning objectives—is key to a successful competency-based learning program.

Continuous feedback

Equally important to successful learning is a consistent and flexible support framework. All key stakeholders—course designers, course instructors, learners, and managers—should be involved in the content creation process. Once instruction is distributed, all stakeholders should be engaged in contributing feedback and review to the learner and to the maintenance of course content to keep it updated, relevant, and efficient.

4. Real-world relevance and transferable skills

Application in authentic contexts

The best competency-based training modules don’t just state facts, they encourage the practical application of knowledge to real-world situations. Real-world relevancy in training motivates employees more, proving the value of your education program and encouraging a culture of continuous learning within the organization.

Training tip: Interactive drag-and-drop modules give employees a chance to prove their mastery in safe, online environments that simulate real world activities. This type of online module can be especially useful for training employees on proper safety procedures, tasks with chronological steps, or tasks that require spatial and visual awareness like traffic control or proper table setting methods.

Portfolio-ready artifacts

For students yet to hit the job market, filling out applications with a relevant portfolio of work can be the advantage that gets them the job. Similarly, for employees in cross-training or cross-skilling programs, the real-world relevance their training gives them can lead them to greater success in their next role. With consistent real-world application of knowledge, employee portfolios stay relevant, preparing them more fully for the next opportunity.

Alignment to 21st century skills

Soft skills like critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration reflect the demands of the modern workplace. In fact, 92 percent of surveyed companies agree that soft skills are just as, or more, important than hard skills for employee success.

CBL focuses curriculum objectives on soft skills to better prepare students for real world jobs. Similarly, a CBL-focused workplace training program doesn’t just focus on technical skills, but the durable skills employees need to be successful in the long term.

In other words, learning the math behind being a great engineer is just the first step. Learning how to effectively communicate, problem-solve, and lead a team to design and implement an engineering solution is the real goal.

5. Equity and accessibility

Equity-oriented pacing

Educators in schools likely know the phrase “meet learners where they’re at.” They know that giving the exact same tools, learning materials, and timeframe to a group of unique, highly diverse learners won’t result in mastery for all. Some need more time. Some need to start with prior knowledge. Others will lose interest if their advanced knowledge isn’t taken into account, boring them with minute, irrelevant details.

Competency-based learning ensures that each learner is provided with what they need to achieve mastery. Timelines are flexible, allowing learners to test their knowledge only when they’re ready.

Opportunities for the underserved

Learning opportunities for the underserved are often hindered by accessibility barriers. Learners with visual, auditory, mobility, or mental disabilities need features like enlarged hotspots, color contrast, closed captions, keyboard. Competency-based learning ensures that regardless of skill or ability, content is created to help learners achieve mastery of specific objectives.

Training tip: Use this accessibility checklist to ensure that your training modules use features to reach learners of all skill levels and learning abilities.

Mobile-responsive learning

As the global workforce is increasingly mobile—about 80% of the global workforce consists of on-the-move, deskless workers—it’s important that training methods keep up. Paired with the flexibility of mobile learning, competency-based learning is even more accessible, flexible, and authentic, providing just-in-time learning exactly when and where employees need it.

Training tip: Consider using course design templates that are built for mobile screens, and use a course creation tool that adapts training modules that look great on any device.

Meet modern demands and drive real world outcomes

Competency based learning offers a mastery‑focused learning pathway that prioritizes outcomes, accessibility, and real-world application. By tailoring support, clarifying expectations, and embedding authentic tasks, CBL empowers learners and aligns workplace training with modern demands.

Ready to learn more about the positive effect of personalized, real-world learning? Check out how Avid Technology uses e-learning to accommodate a wide range of learner needs, actively review and update training content, and save time on course creation.