DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETENCIES IN THE SLOVENIAN WOOD-INDUSTRY

• Main Authors: Kropivšek Jože, Zupančič Anton
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Slovenian Academy of Management 2016-05-01
• Series: Dynamic Relationships Management Journal (DRMJ)
• Subjects: competency; competency model; organizational learning
• Online Access: http://sam-d.si/revija/development-of-competencies-in-the-slovenian-wood-industry/

Competencies are very important for achieving inter-organizational competitiveness, so organizations strive to enhance these as part of human resources management development. Education and training of employees as a form of organizational learning is the key to ensuring their competencies for the job, which in turn leads to their increased motivation and greater efficiency and quality of work. The Slovenian wood industry is of strategic importance for the preservation of rural areas, and offers wide employment opportunities, but in recent years it has become less competitive, mainly because of the low level of knowledge and / or inadequate competencies of employees. In this study we examined the impact of using a competency model for the wood industry in designing training programs for different profiles of employees in order to raise their competencies. The results showed the positive effects of such training in enhancing the level of professional, job-specific and general competencies of employees, as well as reducing the related deficits. The results showed significant progress for almost all of the 91 competencies in the wood industry competency model, in which the overall proportion of deficits (grades 1 and 2) decreased by 58%. Such training can thus ensure the greater competitiveness of the Slovenian wood industry, and the greater flexibility and efficiency of the related companies.