Supervisors’ perspectives on employee development in competency-based education: The activation gap between learning and workplace practice

As lifelong learning becomes imperative for working adults, competency-based education (CBE) has gained traction as a means of aligning education with workplace needs. Yet research on CBE outcomes has largely focused on learners’ perspectives, with limited attention to how supervisors interpret employee outcomes. This study examines how work supervisors perceive the contribution of competency-based stackable micro-credential (CSM) degree pathways to employees’ work performance and development. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with six supervisors of employees enrolled in CSM pathways in Singapore, we analyse their accounts using the Five Capitals framework. Supervisors described changes in employees’ technical and transferable skills, including communication, time management, and confidence, which they associated, to varying degrees, with participation in the programme. However, many supervisors were not fully aware of what the programme involved, and there were few formal processes to discuss what employees had learned. As a result, supervisors were unable to fully leverage employees’ new competencies. The findings suggest that the value of CBE programmes depends not only on what employees learn, but also on how effectively supervisors activate learning and create opportunities to apply it. Strengthening shared responsibility among universities, employees, supervisors, and organisations may better support the translation of learning into workplace practice.