Webinar - The Competence Gap: Why Most Organisations Are Less Defensible Than They Think

May 2026 Most organisations believe they are competent. Because they can evidence training. They can show certificates. Attendance records. Policies. But when something goes wrong… that’s not what gets tested. Scrutiny focuses on something else: • Were the right decisions made? • By competent people? • And can you prove it? For many organisations, that’s where confidence starts to break. Because training doesn’t get tested. Decisions do. This is where most organisations get caught out. Not because they haven’t invested in training, but because they can’t demonstrate that it works in practice. In this session, Toby Bidwell (CMIOSH, FIIRSM), Director at Phoenix Health & Safety, will break down where the competence gap really sits: • The difference between knowledge and application • Why training alone doesn’t create defensibility • Where organisations typically get caught out under scrutiny • What “good” looks like when competence can be evidenced in practice Working with organisations across the UK, Toby sees first-hand where competence breaks down, and what gets exposed when decisions are tested. This is not a session about qualifications. It’s about whether your organisation could confidently stand behind the decisions your people make; under pressure, in real environments, when it matters most. If your organisation was challenged tomorrow, would you be able to prove your people are competent, not just trained?