O objetivo do presente estudo é reavaliar o conceito de competências sob o ponto de vista das teorias que o explicam e a prática de sua utilização nas empresas. Partindo de uma revisão histórica do conceito, foi constatada significativa diversidade de nomes e dos conteúdos que representam. Neste campo há uma situação semelhante à Torre de Babel. Os discursos não são decodificados da mesma forma pelo locutor e pelo ouvinte. Para suportar esta análise, foi realizado um trabalho empírico de comparação entre perfis de competências propostos pelas empresas e os perfis profissionais sugeridos por especialistas a partir de suas experiências com este campo de estudo. Apesar da Torre de Babel há consistência entre as competências propostas pelos especialistas e aquelas praticadas pelas empresas.

The aim of the present study is the reassessment of the concept of competence by matching its theoretical evolution with the professional practice which was developed to manage human resources capabilities. Setting out from the historical evolution it was easy to see the wide span of meanings, names and contents attributed to competence, from the very beginning of the personnel management. Through an oversight glance on it one has the impression of a kind o Babel Tower. Every new author who scans that concept finds a new side in it. The discourses about competence have not been decoded in the same way by the speaker and the listener. To support the analysis here carried out, an empirical investigation was planned and carried out. In it competence profiles as produced by enterprises were matched with profiles proposed by experts and researchers. Notwithstanding the evidences of a Babel Tower some consistency was found between the practice and the conceptual proposals.