1 What are the advantages and disadvantages of a competency-

based approach such as that at North Carolina County? The North Carolina Cooperative Extension (NCCE) is a government-

funded programme that partners with universities across the US state to provide skills development to communities in need in the areas of commercial horticulture, farm safety, pest management and speciality crops (NCCE, 2013). Several counties in North Carolina were recruiting land agents, and finding that new recruits and existing agents had learning and skills needs in the technicalities of horticulture. A team was assembled by NCCE that included volunteers, academics and horticulture specialists to identify the training needs and define the competency types and levels