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Occupational Competency Standardisation and Certification - Mexico
Source: ILO/CINTERFOR
In Mexico, an experience was begun in 1995 by the Occupational Competency Standardisation and Certification Council (CONOCER), the most important initiative with the greatest scope in the field of occupational competencies in the region. It was an answer to interest on the part of the Government in achieving the participation, among other mechanisms, of the players, by stimulating demand with the aim of supporting the design and development of training based on competency standards and their certification.
The occupational competency system which has been applied includes the following main components:
To define technical occupational competency standards by branch of activity or occupational group, to be implemented by the social partners with governmental support.
To establish mechanisms for evaluation, verification and certification of knowledge, abilities and skills of individuals, regardless of the way in which they have been acquired, providing they meet technical competency standards.
To transform the supply of training into a flexible modular system based on competency standards in order that individuals may move among the modules according to their needs.
To create stimuli to demand, in order to promote the new system among the population and firms, seeking an equitable distribution of training and certification opportunities, and also catering to the needs of the disadvantaged population.
Following the creation of a system of national coverage, greater stress is laid on the definition of standards for the more general functions in the different economic branches, technological languages and occupational areas.
Finally, this initiative is conceived from the standpoint of finding a valid alternative to link the different types of education and training with the country’s employment demands. The challenge is to approach the modernisation of educational and training -for- labour systems, not only so that they respond to the exigencies of adaptation to the new conditions of the economy and technology, but particularly to cater to the need to make education and training available to all sectors of the population, with suitable and relevant content and with the quality required by the labour market. At present there are 45 Labour Competency Standardisation Committees operating in Mexico, 57 pilot projects are being carried out in firms of different sectors of economic activity to foster skill development and training of individuals, and seven certifying bodies and nine Evaluation Centres have been accredited. On 13 December last, the first 120 Labour Competency Certificates were distributed.
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