Competencies

Ability to perform specific tasks well and to adapt easily to the activities of a variety of jobs.

Technical

Being able to design, set up, operate, and correct malfunctions involving the use of machines or technological systems.

• Operations analysis — Analyzing operational and product needs to create a design.
• Technology design — Creating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
• Equipment selection — Determining the kinds of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
• Installation — Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
• Programming — Writing computer programs for various purposes.
• Operation monitoring — Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Operation and control — Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
• Equipment maintenance — Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
• Troubleshooting — Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
• Repairing — Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
• Quality control analysis — Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

Resource management

Being able to allocate resources efficiently.

• Time management — Managing one's own time and the time of others.
• Management of financial resources — Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenses.
• Management of material resources — Getting and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
• Management of personnel resources — Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and identifying the best people for the job.

Complex problem solving

Being able to solve novel, ill-defined problems in complex, real-world settings.

Systems

Being able to understand, monitor and improve the interaction between people and technology.

• Judgment and decision-making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Systems analysis — Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
• Systems evaluation — Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, while meeting the goals of the system.

Social

Being able to work with people to achieve goals.

• Social perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Cultural sensitivity — An awareness of how your culture shapes your point of view and being open to other people’s perspectives.
• Co-ordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Persuasion — Convincing others to change their minds or behaviour.
• Negotiation — Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
• Instructing — Teaching others how to do something.
• Service orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people.

Source: This page includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The WorkBC Labour Market Information Office has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.