Developing Competencies in HSE

From Formal Training to Real Skills: The Evolution of HSE

The shortage of qualified personnel and a formal approach to training are key challenges faced by industrial enterprises today. Often, training centers limit themselves to issuing certificates, and programs do not meet the real needs of the business. With the talent shortage in the manufacturing sector expected to worsen by 2030, companies must reconsider their approaches to competency development.

In his presentation, Dmitry Khodyrev, Head of the Competency Development Center at Gazprom Nedra, analyzes practical experience in transforming the training system. The speaker demonstrates how transitioning from fragmented branch practices to a unified strategy allows not only for an increase in knowledge levels but also for a change in employees' attitudes toward safety on site.

Assessing the Current State: The Competence Square

To understand the starting position and visually demonstrate it to management, the speaker suggests using the Competence Square (based on Noel Burch's theory). This tool divides skill levels into four zones:

• Unconscious incompetence: employees are unaware of their lack of knowledge (basic HSE skills often fall into this zone).
• Conscious incompetence: awareness of the skill deficit (typical for soft skills — teamwork, critical thinking).
• Conscious competence: skills are present but require constant monitoring (hard professional skills of production workers are in this zone).
• Unconscious competence: working on autopilot (which is not always an advantage in the context of safety).

Such an assessment allows for an honest look at the situation and helps determine which areas require immediate intervention.

Target Vision and Training System Structure

For effective personnel development management, the speaker details the division of the system into three key blocks:

• Training parties: Division into state (mandatory) and corporate training. For state training, centralized providers with verified programs are introduced, allowing for standardized approaches across all branches. For corporate training, in-house and internal trainers are developed.
• Learning environment: Creation of classrooms, training grounds, and the use of VR simulators. Practical training (e.g., first aid) is impossible without the appropriate infrastructure.
• Control and analysis: Implementation of LMS systems (in this case, based on 1C) to manage schedules, personal accounts, and synchronize with HR processes.

Field Mentoring: Trainers in Production

Of particular interest is the approach to the work of in-house trainers. The speaker shows by example how training goes beyond the classroom. Trainers with production experience travel to sites on a rotational basis. They not only conduct basic courses ("Immersion in HSE", "Interactive Briefing") but also work as methodologists and mentors in the field.

By observing workers in real conditions (for example, using three points of contact when boarding equipment, the quality of briefings), trainers provide feedback "here and now". Such daily practical work has proven highly effective in changing behavioral habits.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to assess the real level of personnel competencies using Noel Burch's matrix?
• Why centralizing training providers is more effective than working with dozens of local contracts?
• How to organize the work of in-house trainer-mentors directly at production facilities?
• What steps are necessary to create a training center at an autonomous field?
• How to integrate an LMS system into the enterprise's existing IT infrastructure?