A Preliminary Study of the Needs for the Development of Competency Measurement Instrument for Malaysian Chefs

Competency-based performance, as part of competency assessment and measurement at the workplace, has gained much attention in the field of technical and vocational training and education (TVET), and human resource management (HRM). There is an increasing concern over competencies that are needed for successful work performance, as well as methods involved in the assessment and measurement of these competencies in the workplace. In today’s contemporary world of work, the practice of competency assessment and measurement is required as it is a guide in evaluating the performance of employees. Assessment of competencies is a lens through which the levels of knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics needed to succeed in a job can be observed. Thus, an instrument measuring culinary competencies for superior performance at work that is reliable and valid needs to be established. From the literature reviewed, there have been few studies on the development of an instrument to measure vocational competencies, especially with regards to culinary competency among Malaysian chefs. Therefore, a preliminary study has been conducted to gain the perspectives of stakeholders in the Malaysian culinary industry regarding the need for this instrument.This paper presents the preliminary findings, which are the views of culinary educators and culinary professionals in the industry on the need for instruments to measure a chef’s competency.