What this is
What is a competency framework register?
What is a competency framework register?
The definitive list of competencies each role requires, what evidences each one, how it is assessed, and how long it remains valid. It is the reference from which training plans, assessments and the competency matrix are all derived.
Why does it need its own register?
Because without one, requirements live inside individual training records and matrices, and the definition of what a role needs becomes whatever was last recorded against someone in it. Change then propagates by accident rather than by decision.
Scope
When is a competency framework register required?
This defines what roles require. It does not record what individuals hold.
Use this template when
- Defining the competencies each role requires, with evidence type and validity per competency
- Introducing a new role, or restructuring existing ones
- Following equipment, process or product changes that alter what a role must be able to do
- Establishing legal and scheme-driven requirements per role, so they are visible rather than assumed
- Reviewing whether requirements still describe the work as performed
Do not use it for
- The competency matrix, which reports which individuals hold which competencies and where the gaps are
- Individual training records, which evidence delivery to a person
- Skills assessments, which record observed performance against criteria
- Job descriptions, which describe responsibilities rather than assessable capability
- Succession and development planning, which uses this as an input
Compliance mapping
Which ISO 45001 cl.7.2 requirements does this satisfy?
Competency frameworks sit under the same competence clauses as training records, with the framework supplying the determination step.
| Clause | Requirement | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 45001 cl.7.2(a) | Determine the necessary competence of workers affecting OH&S performance | Competencies |
| ISO 45001 cl.7.2(b) | Ensure workers are competent on the basis of education, training or experience | Competencies |
| ISO 9001 cl.7.2 | Determine necessary competence and retain documented information as evidence | Related records |
| ISO 22000 cl.7.2 | Competence requirements including for externally provided personnel | Competencies |
| ISO 45001 cl.7.3 | Awareness requirements, which sit alongside competence and apply more broadly | Competencies |
| OSHA task standards | Task-specific training and qualification requirements which the framework should capture per role | Competencies |
| ISO 45001 cl.9.1 | Monitoring and measurement, which requires the framework to be current to be meaningful | Register health |
| ISO 19011 cl.7 | Auditor competence, an example of role-specific competence defined by scope | Competencies |
What it does not cover
- The competency matrix, which reports individual coverage against these requirements.
- Training records, which evidence what was delivered to whom.
- Skills assessments, which record observed performance.
- Job descriptions, which describe responsibility rather than assessable capability.
- Succession planning, which consumes this register rather than producing it.
How to complete it
How to complete a competency framework register, step by step
Four decisions per competency, and one discipline that keeps the register alive.
Write what the person must be able to do, observably. This keeps the requirement stable when training provision changes, allows experience or an equivalent qualification to serve as evidence, and makes assessment possible. Course names are a means, and they belong in the training plan rather than in the requirement.
Observation, external qualification, documented experience, or knowledge check. Different competencies warrant different evidence, and a framework that does not say which produces inconsistent practice: some competencies assessed rigorously, others accepted on attendance, with no principle distinguishing them.
How quickly the skill degrades without practice, and how bad the consequence of failure is. Rarely performed emergency response tasks decay fastest and carry the highest consequence, and they are routinely assigned the longest refresh intervals because they are also the least convenient to practise.
New equipment, modified processes, new products and regulatory change all alter what a role must be able to do. Where the framework is not connected to management of change, it describes the operation as it was when someone last reviewed it, and the matrix built on it reports confidently against obsolete requirements.
What auditors find
Most common competency framework register findings
Findings here propagate, because everything downstream inherits them.
| Finding | Clause | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Requirements expressed as course names rather than capabilities. | ISO 45001 cl.7.2 | State observable capability; the course is a means, not the requirement. |
| No evidence type specified per competency. | ISO 9001 cl.7.2 | Specify observation, qualification, experience or knowledge check for each. |
| Framework not updated after new equipment was introduced. | ISO 45001 cl.7.2(a) | Link to management of change; new equipment creates requirements silently. |
| Validity periods set by administrative convenience. | ISO 45001 cl.7.2 | Set from skill decay and consequence; rarely used emergency skills decay fastest. |
| Competencies not scoped to equipment or product where it matters. | ISO 45001 cl.7.2 | Scope explicitly; a general designation conceals the specific gap. |
| Legal and scheme requirements not identified within the framework. | ISO 45001 cl.6.1.3 | Mark which requirements are legally mandated so they cannot be deprioritised silently. |
| Externally provided personnel not covered by any framework. | ISO 22000 cl.7.2 | Agency and contractor roles need defined requirements too. |
| Matrix reporting full coverage against obsolete requirements. | ISO 45001 cl.9.1 | Green reporting against a stale framework is worse than an obvious gap. |
| No owner for the framework, so nobody maintains it. | ISO 45001 cl.5.3 | Assign ownership; a definition layer with no owner decays quietly. |
| Awareness requirements confused with competence requirements. | ISO 45001 cl.7.3 | Awareness applies more broadly and requires different evidence. |
Case in point
Case in point: a green matrix against the wrong requirements
A site reported 97 percent competency coverage for two years running. The matrix was well maintained, gaps were chased, and the figure was presented at management review as evidence of a healthy programme.
During an audit the assessor asked which competencies applied to a packing line that had been installed eighteen months earlier. The framework did not mention it. The line had replaced two older machines whose competencies remained in the framework, and operators were recorded as competent on equipment that no longer existed while holding no defined requirement for the machine they actually ran.
The matrix had been accurate throughout. It was reporting coverage against a definition of the job that had stopped being true a year and a half earlier, and the reporting being green was precisely why nobody had looked.
The template
The template, field by field
The form exactly as it installs. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it.
4 sections
- Reference
- FDN-027
- Archetype
- Register
- Record ID
- CFR-2026-000
- Scoring
- Definitions complete
- Direction
- High is good
- Singleton
- No
- Basis
- ISO 45001 cl.7.2
- Links
- Feeds Competency matrix, Assessments
- Tags
- Registry, Competency
- Sections
- 4
- Fields
- 32
- Follow up fields
- 3
- Repeating sections
- 1
- Links out
- 4
Header
8 fieldsRegister ID*
Auto sequence. Format CFR-2026-000.
The record's own ID. Other templates point at this value.
Status*
Drives who this goes to next.
- Planned2 pts
- In progress2 pts
- Complete3 pts
- Deferred0 pts
- Open0 pts
- Closed3 pts
- Overdue0 pts
Last Reviewed*
Maintained By*
Next Review Due*
Site*
Site ID*
Format SITE-000.
Links to FDN-001 Site ID
One Word, Three Meanings
Trained, competent and authorised mean different things and get used interchangeably. Defining them once stops the matrix filling with terms nobody can audit.
Competencies
Repeats12 fieldsCompetency Name*
Domain*
Owner*
What It Means*
How It Is Assessed*
Knowledge check, observed practice, supervised period, external qualification, or a combination.
- Observed practice4 pts
- Supervised period3 pts
- External qualification3 pts
- Knowledge check2 pts
- Attendance only0 pts
Assessed By Whom*
- Independent assessor4 pts
- Trained assessor3 pts
- Line supervisor2 pts
- Self0 pts
Evidence Required*
- Documented and retained3 pts
- Recorded only1 pt
- None0 pts
Validity Period*
Refresher Required*
- Yes3 pts
- No1 pt
Linked Course ID
Links to FDN-007 Course ID
Legally Required*
Authorisation Separate From Competence*
Somebody can be competent and still not authorised on this site. Keep the two apart.
- Yes3 pts
- No0 pts
Related records
1 fieldCompetency Matrix ID
The matrix these definitions are used in.
Links to TRN-020 Matrix ID
Register health
11 fieldsCompetencies Defined*
Definitions Without An Assessment Method*
Used In The Matrix*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Action Required*
Raise the action record, then enter its reference here.
- No2 pts
- Yes0 pts
Priority
- High0 pts
- Medium1 pt
- Low3 pts
CAPA ID
Format CAPA-2026-00000.
Links to FDN-014 CAPA ID
Action Owner
Training Lead*
Signature*
Site Manager*
Second Signature*
FDN-027 · record IDs look like CFR-2026-000 · Feeds Competency matrix, Assessments
Open in KnowellaRun it with agents
From a document you fill in to a programme that runs itself
The framework is the definition layer. What fails is the equipment change that never reached it, and the green reporting that discouraged anyone from looking.
Holds requirements as capabilities with evidence type and validity per competency, and drives the matrix from them rather than the reverse.
Connects equipment, process and product changes to the framework, and flags requirements untouched while the operation has changed.
Marks legally mandated and scheme-driven competencies so they are visible and cannot be deprioritised without a decision.
Extends defined requirements to agency and contractor roles performing the same work, which site frameworks routinely omit.
This template lives in General — control tower. The orchestration layer. Registries and engines every other workspace reads from.
Meet General→Glossary
Competency Framework Register definitions and key terms
- Competency framework
- The definitive statement of what capabilities each role requires, with evidence type and validity per competency.
- Competency matrix
- The report showing which individuals hold which competencies against the framework, and where the gaps are.
- Evidence type
- How a competency is demonstrated: observation, external qualification, documented experience or knowledge check.
- Skill decay
- Loss of capability through lack of practice, fastest for complex rarely performed tasks such as emergency response.
- Scope of competency
- The specific equipment, product or conditions to which a competency applies.
- Awareness requirement
- What people must know without needing assessed competence, applying to a broader population under ISO 45001 clause 7.3.
- Framework currency
- Whether the register still describes the work as it is performed, measured by what has changed rather than by review date.
- Mandated competency
- A requirement arising from law or a certification scheme, which cannot be deprioritised on operational grounds.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about competency framework register
What is the difference between the framework and the matrix?+
The framework defines what each role requires. The matrix reports which people hold those competencies and where the gaps are. Confusing them produces a matrix that is scrupulously accurate about requirements that no longer describe the job, and because the reporting looks healthy, nobody examines the definitions underneath.
Why not list courses?+
Because a course is a means of achieving a capability, not the capability itself. When the provider changes or the course is replaced, a course-name requirement changes silently with it. Stating observable capability keeps the requirement stable, allows experience or an equivalent qualification to serve as evidence, and makes assessment possible.
How should validity periods be set?+
From how quickly the skill decays without practice and how serious the consequence of failure is. Complex, rarely performed, high-consequence tasks, emergency response above all, decay fastest and warrant the shortest intervals. In practice they usually receive the longest, because practising them is inconvenient.
What keeps the framework accurate?+
A link to management of change. New equipment, modified processes, new products and regulatory changes all alter what a role must be able to do, and none of them announce themselves as competence events. Without that link the framework describes the operation as it was when someone last sat down with it.
Is high coverage a good sign?+
Not by itself. Near-complete coverage can indicate a healthy programme or a stale framework, and the two look identical in the reporting. The more informative question is when the framework last changed and what changed it. In an operation that has installed or modified equipment, a framework untouched for two years is describing a different site.
Keep going
Related templates and programmes
Industries this is written for
Programmes this belongs to
Used together in Worker Competency and Credentials
Driver Licence and Entitlement Check
Checks driver licence validity, categories, endorsements and any restrictions with the issuing authority
Electrical Competency Authorisation
Authorises a named person to carry out defined electrical activities on this site, with the limits stated
Competency Matrix
Shows which skills and training each role requires and who currently holds them
Skills Assessment
Assesses whether a worker can actually perform a task to standard, by watching them do it
Training Needs Analysis
Works out the gap between the skills a role needs and the skills people have
Trainer Qualification Record
Confirms that a person is qualified to train and assess others in a given task
More in Registries
Site and Location Register
Holds every site, building, area and zone your organisation operates
Asset Register
Holds every piece of equipment, machine, vehicle and tool you track
Worker Profile
Holds a record for each worker, including role, department, site and start date
Job and Task Register
Lists the jobs and tasks people perform, so risk assessments and ergonomic assessments can be tied to real work rather than job titles
Vendor and Contractor Register
Holds every supplier, contractor and service provider you work with, including their status and approval level
Chemical and Substance Register
Lists every chemical and hazardous substance held on site, with quantity, location and hazard class
Written and reviewed by
Siddarth Singh
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Knowella
Certified Safety Professional and industrial and systems engineer with more than a decade inside food supply chain, freight and manufacturing operations. This page was written against the current text of the standards it cites, not against secondary summaries of them.
- Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Board of Certified Safety Professionals
- MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- MS and BS, The Ohio State University, Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Six Sigma Black Belt
Sources and last review. Reviewed 16 August 2026 against:
- ISO 45001:2018 clauses 7.2 and 7.3, competence and awareness
- ISO 9001:2015 clause 7.2, competence
- ISO 22000:2018 clause 7.2, including externally provided personnel
- IATF 16949:2016 clause 7.2, competence and on-the-job training
- ISO 19011:2018 clause 7, competence and evaluation of auditors
This page is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with your jurisdiction’s regulator.