Digital technologies and competency: enhanced learning for hazardous areas
10 February 2026
Every two months, CompEx Certification’s Technical Director Paul Hague offers his perspective on the latest industry developments, particularly focusing on competency within hazardous areas. This month he discusses digital technologies and their use for enhanced learning for hazardous areas.
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Yet in environments where safety, reliability, and regulatory compliance are paramount, any discussion of digital learning must be approached with care. Competency in hazardous areas has never been solely about knowledge transfer; it is about the application of skills, judgement, and behaviours in real-world conditions. The challenge, therefore, is not whether digital technologies should be used, but how they can be applied in a way that strengthens, rather than dilutes competency outcomes.
At its best, digital technology offers clear and tangible benefits. Online learning platforms allow candidates to access structured content at a time and pace that suits them, supporting more consistent baseline knowledge before formal training or assessment takes place. Pre-learning modules can introduce core principles, terminology, and safety concepts, allowing valuable classroom or workshop time to be focused on discussion, clarification, and practical application.
From an employer perspective, digital tools also support improved visibility. Learning management systems can track participation, progression, and outcomes, providing auditable evidence that training requirements have been met. When used appropriately, this information can help organisations identify skills gaps, plan refresher training, and demonstrate due diligence internally as well as externally to regulators and insurers.
Importantly, none of these benefits depend on abandoning traditional delivery models. Quite the opposite, digital tools can sit comfortably alongside classroom-based instruction and practical workshops, enhancing rather than replacing established approaches.
While digital technologies are well suited to underpinning fundamental knowledge-based learning, they are less effective when it comes to assessing practical skills, situational awareness, and safe working behaviours. In industries with hazardous areas, competence must be demonstrated, not inferred.
Handling and operating equipment, correct installation practices, recognising defects during inspection and maintenance activities, and responding appropriately to abnormal conditions all require hands-on experience. These elements are difficult and, in many cases, ineffective to assess purely through online or remote means. For this reason, practical assessment remains a cornerstone of credible competency frameworks.
This emphasis is reflected in international standards such as IEC 60079-14 and IEC 60079-17, which set clear expectations for the competence of personnel involved in the design, selection, installation, inspection, and maintenance of equipment in hazardous areas. While these standards do not prescribe how competence should be achieved, they are explicit in requiring that individuals are suitably trained, knowledgeable, and experienced for the tasks they undertake, and that tasks such as installation or inspection and maintenance activities are carried out by competent persons using appropriate methods.
Increasingly training providers have adopted blended models, combining digital learning with instructor-led sessions and practical assessment. This approach allows candidates to arrive better prepared, while still ensuring that competence is demonstrated under controlled and verifiable conditions. It also preserves the vital role of experienced trainers and assessors, whose judgement and contextual understanding cannot be digitised.
One of the risks in the digital learning debate is the assumption that a single delivery model will suit all learners, roles, or industries. In reality, workforce demographics, job roles, and risk profiles vary widely.
It is also important to recognise that digital-only delivery models can be both effective and appropriate in certain contexts. For roles where learning outcomes are primarily knowledge-based, or where competence can be demonstrated through structured evidence and assessment, fully digital solutions may offer a viable and efficient route to achieving a particular qualification. As with all delivery models, their suitability depends not on the medium itself, but on how well the assessment strategy aligns with the required outcomes and risk profile of the role.
For other roles, particularly those involving complex tasks, infrequent activities, or safety-critical decision-making, face-to-face interaction and practical assessment remain essential. A balanced approach helps maintain confidence among employers, regulators, and candidates alike.
Looking to the future, technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and immersive simulation are often cited as potential game-changers. While these tools are unlikely to replace practical assessment in the foreseeable future, they may offer valuable support in specific areas. For example, AR could be used to guide candidates through inspection activities, highlight common defects, or simulate hazardous scenarios that would be unsafe or impractical to recreate physically. In training contexts, immersive technologies may help reinforce learning, build familiarity with equipment, or support refresher training between formal assessments.
However, widespread adoption is likely to be influenced by cost, accessibility, and standardisation. For many organisations, particularly smaller operators and training providers, the investment required may be prohibitive in the short term. As with earlier digital innovations, uptake is likely to be gradual and complementary rather than transformative.
Ultimately, digital technologies should be viewed as tools, not solutions in their own right. When aligned with well-defined competency frameworks, they can improve access, consistency, and oversight whilst increasing confidence and capability. When applied without regard for practical skill or context, they risk undermining confidence in competence.
The future of training in hazardous areas is therefore unlikely to be purely digital or purely traditional. Instead, it lies in thoughtful integration: using technology where it adds value, retaining hands-on assessment where it matters most, and keeping competency, not delivery method as the guiding principle.
About the author:
Paul Hague is the Technical Director for CompEx. With over 30 years of ‘Ex’ industry experience, Paul has technical responsibility for the CompEx qualifications portfolio, ensuring that they meet international standards and reflect industry best practice. He also has overall responsibility for operations and quality assurance activities.