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Training and Technological Services - Colombia
Source: ILO/CINTERFOR
Transfer of Technology in a Training Environment
The National Training Service (SENA) has had, in its more than forty years of age, an increasing relationship with productive technological development. From the standpoint of this institution, its main function, to provide complete vocational training for the country’s workers, can be defined as a transfer of technology in a training environment, to be applied to the productive processes of firms of all sizes and technological complexities.
Among the specific fields of endeavour of the SENA the focus of which is explicitly the support of technological development, the following services can be singled out:
support to sectoral agreements regarding competitiveness;
applied research in association with other bodies; and
special co-operation agreements.
Training and Technological Services Centres
These activities are carried out mainly by 21 training and technological services centres which have comparative advantages to further technological development activities, in which a significant part of the resources of the body’s regular budget is invested. These centres possess an infrastructure in equipment and plant which can be used in strategic alliances with firms and technological development and productivity centres to promote activities in the framework of innovation and technological development.
At present that responsibility has been increased by the assignment of a significant part of its parafiscal income to productive technological development projects, in accordance with the provisions of Law 344 of 1996. By applying these resources the following is sought:
To increase the competitiveness of productive sectors with the aim of promoting exports, improving innovative capacities and raising the level of learning of employers and workers, as support for the basic strategies of employment generation and upgrading the quality of life of the Colombian population.
To provide vocational training in the country, to respond to the needs of the productive sector, in such manner that it be flexible, of good quality and relevant.
To modernise SENA vocational training centre management systems.
To initiate the dovetailing of the National Vocational Training System with the National Innovation System, establishing common approaches and strategies which enable the quality of technical and vocational education to be raised, technological innovation in productive sectors to be furthered and the creation of a new institutional culture for long term competitiveness in Colombia.
In a general way, Colombia has sought to structure its efforts regarding science and technology in a process beginning with the enactment of Law 29, of 1990, which provides for the development of scientific research and technological development and grants special powers, inter alia, to modify the statutes of official bodies with science and technology functions, including those of changing their appointments and linkages and creating the bodies needed. The Law was broadened and specified in 1996 by three decrees:
one establishing rules governing association for scientific and technological activities, research projects and technology creation;
another creating the National Science and Technology Council and reorganising the Colombian Institute for Science and Technology Development (COLCIENCIAS);
a decree which regulates the specific modalities of contracts for promoting scientific and technological activities.
This legal framework has provided an important base for reinforcing activities related to technological research and development by decentralised agencies such as the SENA, as well as universities and other institutes involved in the subject. In this context, the role assigned to vocational training, and concretely to the SENA, in competitiveness policy is very important, not only as a provider of training services, but also of funds for technological development projects.
National Technological Development Projects Committee
Together, SENA and COLCIENCIAS constitute the National Technological Development Projects Committee, the purposes of which are, inter alia:
to propose specific actions for dovetailing the National Innovation System with the Vocational Training System, according to the general policy and guidelines established by the CONPES and the National Science and Technology Council; and
to analyse the projects and the concepts of the evaluators and experts and decide on the feasibility of the initiatives that meet the requirements of relevance, quality, employer commitment and technological innovation.
One of the concrete expressions of the results of this strategy are the Technological Development Centres, in some cases managed directly by the SENA and in others by the private sector with the support of this institution. The SENA at present has Centres in different regions and cities of Colombia:
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