Assessing Occupational Competence

There is a concept called occupational competence to be realised in practice. MSC has said, in the context of YTS, that by competent it means: Performing at the standards expected of an employee doing the same job (Guidance Notes on Compiling the Record of Achievement and the YTS Certificate). This is fine as an operational definition; but it inevitably sets a local rather than a national standard, which is what is wanted. To make it work nationally, it would be necessary to conceive of some idealised employee. We therefore distinguish between national standards and local or domestic standards.