Qualification is the competence that is required for tasks related to wage labour. Competence is all the forms of knowledge possessed by the staff as well as their personal abilities. When qualification is related to competence, possible competence deficiencies become apparent. The first step in the process of describing competence deficiency is to specify the concept of qualification. This is achieved by means of Õsocial testsÕ, which may be considered as relevant data for controlling the improvement of competence. Empirical data are used to develop Õsocial testsÕ relating to qualification for two staff categories