The full scope of outcomes also include those that accrue to postsecondary participants over long time frames, such as better health and the economic benefits passed on to their children. Competencies are a combination of skills, abilities and knowledge. A given competency can be used in many different ways. For example, measuring distances is important to both professional golfers and surveyors. Of course, different distance measuring skills may be involved in carrying out these two tasks.
Competencies have utility in the context of a task.
That is, a person may have great hand-eye coordination, knowledge of the rules of baseball, and skill in mixing just the right combination of gin, vermouth and bitters, but there is no task that uses this particular combination of skills, abilities and knowledge. Competence in different contexts requires different bundles of skills and knowledge. Leadership in a surgery suite is different from leadership on the basketball court. Knowing how to package the right set of competencies to effectively carry out a given task is in itself a competency. We sometimes refer to individuals as having great skills but are unable to apply them.