A COMPETENCE-IN-NETWORK FRAMEWORK FOR NEEDS ANALYSIS IN ENGLISH FOR OCCUPATIONAL PURPOSES

Abstract

Needs analysis is widely regarded as the foundation of English for Occupational Purposes (EOP), yet workplace needs analyses still tend to describe learners' needs as inventories of tasks and skills, rely heavily on self-reports from a single group of informants, and overlook the tools and policies that increasingly shape workplace communication. This conceptual article examines what three decades of workplace needs analysis research reveal about the nature of occupational communicative needs and proposes a framework that addresses these limitations. Using a theory synthesis and model-building design, it integrates foundational models of needs analysis, genre-based and workplace discourse research, studies of English as a business lingua franca, empirical needs analyses across occupational sectors, and recent evidence on generative artificial intelligence (AI) at work. The synthesis identifies four blind spots of task-inventory approaches: an isolation problem, a surface problem, a mediation problem, and a positionality problem. In response, the article proposes the Competence-in-Network (CiN) framework, which describes each priority communicative event in terms of its place in a genre network, four layers of competence (knowledge, judgement, relational skills, and professional values), the channels, tools, AI, and policies that mediate it, and the positions of the stakeholders who define it. The framework is operationalized through an event–competence matrix and a six-stage procedure adapted to the realities of vocational and professional education in Indonesia and comparable contexts. Five propositions and a research agenda are offered to guide empirical testing.