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In education as well as in Human Resource Management the concept of competency is becoming more and more important. However competency is a fuzzy concept that lacks coherent terminology and is used in many different meanings. In the first part of this chapter competency is defined as a multi-dimensional construct with five dimensions: specificity, coherency, durability, activity and trainability. Then two approaches are presented to establish the competencies organisations or educational institutes should address :the function-based approach which focuses requirements for good performance in a specific function and the employee based approach which focuses on individual competencies for excellent performers. Finally it is argued that a competency based curriculum should move towards self-directed competency-based learning (SDCBL), using personal learning plans and adopting the flexible learning opportunities of e-learning. However SDCBL can only be successful when learners can be taught to be responsible managers and owners of their own learning process.

Informal learning is seen as an important phenomenon in the contemporary era of lifelong learning. This study examined informal learning activities and its outcomes as well as the factors that influenced, either positively or negatively, informal learning. In total 24 employees of the Dutch Open University were interviewed about their main informal learning experiences over the last two years. Findings revealed that the majority of the informal learning outcomes are skill-based, generic and applicable in a larger cluster of jobs than participants' present jobs. Participants favoured learning activities that allow high levels of internal locus of control. The main stimulus for informal learning lies in the changing demands of their daily job. Other organisational, job and employee characteristics, such as age, job tenure, attitude of supervisor and colleagues, hardly influenced participants' informal learning. The article concludes with some critical remarks on the value of informal learning from the perspective of lifelong learning.Keywords: Informal learning; transfer of learning; lifelong learning; factors affecting informal learning.Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Van der Klink, M., Boon, J. and Schlusmans, K. (2012)