Measuring in professional settings is (a) focused on the professions, (b) competence-based and (c) authentic, i.e. real world-oriented. In this context the paper deals in particular with (1) an identification of valid competence measures (test question) and (2) an identification of predictive variables (interpretation question).

To answer the test question an assessment model, incl. a computerized test environment for the domain of economic competencies is presented (Winther & Achtenhagen, 2009; Winther, 2010). Such assessment approaches are not only more economic – in terms of data procession and testing time for the testees (when using an adaptive testing approach) – but also do they inhere a natural authenticity. This is in particular the case for the economic domain, where the computer serves as the actual workplace, but also in other vocational areas e. g. for the vocation of mechanics, where computer-based simulations have shown to convey over a high predictive power for real work observations (Nickolaus, Gschwendter, & Abele, 2009; Gschwendter, Abele, & Nickolaus, 2009).

However, a modern modelling of competency does not exclusively concern cognitive aspects but integrates socio-economic factors as well as motivational and volitional components. Therefore in order to respond to the interpretation question we refer to explanatory models for competence development including workplace and learning variables, social parameters and identity conceptions. In this context the integration of vocational identity plays a predominant role as it is considered to strongly influence the development of vocational competencies (Heinz, 1995; Heinemann & Rauner, 2008; Rauner, Heinemann, & Haasler, 2009). First empirical results regarding the explanatory power of vocational identity for vocational competency development will be presented.

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