Posted By Tony abc jprhdnMurphy A competent person is someone with the necessary training, knowledge and experience. This applies to all walks of life except certain professions where a qualification is a must, i.e Doctor, University Professor. The arguments will always rage on here about levels of competence due to the open endedness of the subject. For example, how can somebody who has never been in a fire situation conduct an assessment of the risk and put control measures in place? Stick to good practice and use other peoples expertise to guide you, that way you wont feel too bad if anything goes pear shaped.