The effects of technological, social and economic change are presenting the world of work with new challenges: Globalisation of markets and production processes, increasing pressure to innovate, and growing importance of environmentally and socially responsible business practices.

These and other developments are leading to an internationalisation and flexibilisation of work organisation, a faster obsolescence of knowledge stocks and a higher degree of responsibility for oneself and others. For example, labour scientists and personnel consultants emphasise that it is not enough to be able to apply the knowledge acquired in one's studies in order to cope with the ever more complex requirements in one's job.

Today, applicants are therefore not only required to have a high level of professional competence, but also so-called key competences such as "mental and physical flexibility and mobility, the ability to contextualise and act responsibly, communication and cooperation, the ability to judge and make decisions, self-organisation and self-responsibility".

But what does key competence or key qualification actually mean? [Continue reading]