Beyond Certification Counts: Rethinking the Measurement of Operational Competence in Adult Learning Systems

Presentation delivered at the Cedefop Research Seminar “Advancing research on adult learning: Using and innovating quantitative approaches to support effective policies”, Thessaloniki, Greece, 12 October 2026. This theoretical contribution examines the inferential reach of qualifications, assessments and attestations when claims about knowledge and competence extend to operational functioning under real workplace conditions. It proposes Actor–Environment functional coupling (AEFC) as a construct for examining the functional relation between actors and their operational environments. Knowledge in relation to operational uncertainty serves as one illustrative test case. Operational functioning is identified as an empirical criterion, with observable performance as candidate evidence. The presentation considers how this relational perspective might help clarify what existing evidence warrants us to conclude about operational competence and entrustment. It outlines directions for future empirical research rather than presenting AEFC as an empirically validated model. This record contains the author’s presentation delivered at Cedefop on 12 October 2026.