Competency and capability
Competency and capability
GIBA’s competency architecture describes how professional knowledge translates into observable performance. This page explains the intended model only — it is under development.
Eight distinctions GIBA keeps clear
Much confusion in professional development comes from blurring these terms. GIBA keeps them distinct.
- Knowledge
- What a professional understands about a field.
- Skill
- A specific learned ability to perform a task.
- Competency
- The integration of knowledge, skills and judgement into reliable performance in context.
- Capability
- The broader, often organisational, potential to perform and adapt over time.
- Learning outcome
- What a learner should be able to do after a defined learning experience.
- Assessment
- The evidence-based judgement of whether a competency has been demonstrated.
- Certification
- Formal recognition that assessed competence meets a defined standard.
- Professional practice
- The sustained, accountable application of competence in real work.
Relationship to GBOK knowledge
The competency architecture builds on GBOK knowledge but is a separate layer. Knowing the body of knowledge is necessary but not sufficient for competence; competence is demonstrated in performance, not in recall.
What exists today
No competency framework, role profiles or assessment instruments are published. This page describes intended direction so the architecture can be understood; it is not an operational competency scheme.