Competences

You’ll often encounter the term “competences” in My Portfolio. It appears whenever the site asks you to define what you actually know and can do (“Which competences do you have from school? Which competences from work? Which competences from other areas of life?”).

Thus, “competences” here mean:
●    knowledge – knowledge of a given field, possession of information on a given topic,
●    skills – the ability to perform a given activity, including the practical use of knowledge,
●    social competences – responsibility and autonomy in applying knowledge and skills, and what are known as “soft” skills.

Another collective term for the above which you may encounter, especially in the context of formal education and the Integrated Qualifications System, are “learning outcomes”.

Qualifications

Briefly, qualifications are sets of competences (learning outcomes) officially certified by an authorised entity. In other words, an appropriate institution has verified that you possess all the required knowledge, skills, and social competences in a given area and has issued you a document to that effect (e.g., a certificate).