COMPETENCIES AND THE JOB MARKET

Abstract

This article aims to contextualize the theme of competence in the job market. With this aim, we present different concepts used in the curricular frameworks which enable us to promote a discussion on this theme, from an interdisciplinary perspective. We start with the premise that the word competence comes from the Latin “competentia” (Aurélio 1998). It is also the quality of one who is capable of appreciating and resolving a certain matter, doing a certain thing, capacity, skill, aptitude, suitability. This concept leads to the idea that when we speak of competence we are speaking of an individual dimension, a social dimension, and the relationships which are established between subjects - individuals involved in day-to-day actions - both at the personal and professional levels. The historical dimension of issues of work and its implications for the study of competencies, point to the different movements that mark the new needs for structuring - distribution and organization - of work. We present the notion of subject which guides the discussions, and secondly, we focus on the psychological dimensions of competencies and their implications for teaching practice in the organizational context.