The Latin American and Caribbean scenario has been greatly modified in recent years. Over and above the economic, social and political reforms that have been set off, the growing exposure of national economies to international competition has resulted in more stringent requirements for those who design and implement vocational training policies.

The characteristics of economic activities and new social needs bring training to the fore owing to its capacity to include people, mobilise knowledge, create better conditions for employability and facilitate options for social dialogue.

However, the greater complexity of current circumstances has also exacted more strenuous efforts from training bodies to keep updated and offer services in accordance with demands. The last years of the millennium have also witnessed frequent modernisation attempts undertaken by training institutes, or imposed upon them by circumstances.

The gradual incorporation of new actors to the training supply, the availability of a mix of financing sources and the necessary relevance expected of training programmes are some of the factors that have led to the modernisation and transformation of training institutes. Methods of transformation and adaptation to change are nowadays priority items on the agenda of training bodies.

On the other hand, the users of training want to know about the best offers, those ensuring the greatest efficiency. Both employers and workers are looking for signs of efficiency. Financing providers are also interested in the best possible use of the funds they invest in training. Well managed institutes give them a social assurance of efficient public spending. The same can be said about funds from the private sector: they must go to bodies accountable for relevant, effective and efficient training procedures.

Hence that vocational training institutions should be interested in improving the efficiency and relevance of their activities This has been recently reflected in their adoption of management mechanisms aimed at ensuring quality.

The trend is reflected in the adoption of management and participation measures using tools and actions intended to nurture a quality culture. Such measures - usually embodied in a rationale of ongoing improvement or in institutional modernisation processes – imply personnel training, identification of critical factors, spelling out of a mission and objectives entailing the qualitative upgrading of the institution.

Closely connected with modernisation processes, the total quality philosophy has been gaining ground as a highly valuable tool to bring about constant improvement, institutional education and the culture of a job well done. The adoption of a quality approach is evident in many of the activities implemented by training bodies.

Some of them take part in national mechanisms of evaluation and quality control for their centres and other operational units. They likewise participate in other evaluation systems. The National Training Institute of Costa Rica, for instance, was given top rating in an evaluation based on indicators carried out by the Costa Rican National Evaluation System (SINE) among 29 public institutions of the country.

Other VTIs adopt mechanisms, indicators or systems for classifying results in order to monitor the quality of responses. Such is the case of the evaluation system used by the SENAI, of Brazil, that grants Gold, Silver and Bronze awards to Model Centres of Vocational Education or National Technology Centres. The SENA of Colombia has also devised a system of indicators to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of its Training Centres and regional Centres. Along similar lines, and in accordance with its own modernisation process, the INTECAP of Guatemala has adopted what it calls "philosophy of the 5 ‘S’s’ to promote a quality culture".

There are institutions that have become involved in national quality drives and work in association with national standardisation and accreditation bodies. Such joint work has resulted in the accreditation of the Technological Centres of training institutions to offer services in metrology or testing, as required for compliance by various products with quality standards in national and international markets. Such is the case of the SENAI National Technology Centres (Brazil) and the SENA Technological Development Centres (Colombia). VTIs have provided training and consultant services to firms for the implementation of quality control systems. This is a service of increasing frequency rendered by institutions, like the SENATI of Peru, whose Service Centres for Small and Medium Enterprises deliver training with an emphasis on quality.

At the same time, VTIs have sought for an external quality guarantee, verified and audited by some outside organisation. They have usually resorted to the ISO 9000 standards.

New experiences in certified quality management can be detected from Central America down to the Southern Cone. The following are some examples:

The National Training Service (SENAI) of Brazil provides one of the first examples recorded in the region. It stated in the State of Santa Catarina with the application of the "Five s’s Programme" and subsequent ISO 9000 certification by the German firm TUV RHEINLAND. The regions of Paraná, Espíritu Santo and Pernambuco have also been given awards of the ISO series. More recently, the SENAI National Direction at Brasilia adopted a quality control standard (ISO 9001) that was audited by the BVQI which resulted in a recommendation to carry out certifications according to the following scheme: Planning, Development and Co-ordination of Strategic Projects and Operational Improvement.

The SENAI also has an internal system to acknowledge the quality of its Training Centres whereby they are given – after suitable evaluation – the title of "Model Centres of Vocational Education" or "National Technology Centres". The system is based on the criteria of the National Quality Programme, which include, among others: Management of Processes, Management of People, Leadership, Strategic Planning, Focusing on the Client and the Market, Results and Information Management. There are three progressive levels of compliance, called Bronze, Silver and Gold in ascending order.

In Peru, the National Industrial Training Service (SENATI) has been awarded the ISO 9001 quality standard by the Veritas Quality International Bureau. After an intensive nation-wide drive, this VTI obtained this certificate in all its Zone Offices for its Programmes of Vocational Training and Education, namely, Dual Apprenticeship, Training of Employed Workers, Industrial Technicians, Industrial Managers, Industry Officer, Engineering Technician, Ongoing Training, MultiMedia Training, Computer Science and Employment Exchange. SENATI’s Technical and Non-Destructive Tests Services have also been certified, as well as its Advisory Services to Small and Medium Firms in the Lima-Callao area.

After conducting a number of activities aimed at institutional modernisation, which among other things favoured its acceptance of a mechanism for the accreditation of other public and private training bodies, the national Training Institute (INA) of Costa Rica embarked upon a quality assurance process, and achieved in 1998 certification of its Accreditation Unit by INTECO ad by the Spanish Standardisation and Certification Association (AENOR), in accordance with the ISO 9002 Standard.

The Council for the Standardisation and Certification of Occupational Skills (CONOCER), of Mexico, was certified in February 2000 by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA), in recognition of its adoption of efficient systems that are proof of its capacity to ensure the quality of its processes in the design, production and distribution of its products, as well as in the rendering of associated services.

The National Service of Training and Employment (SENCE) of Chile was the first public department in that country to obtain a certification of the ISO 9000 series. In effect, in January this year it was awarded the Veritas Quality International Bureau (BVQI), testifying to the fact that "the process of constitution of Technical Training Organisations in the Metropolitan Region, complies with the ISO 9002 quality requirements".

In its modernisation programme, the Technical Training and Productivity Institute (INTECAP) of Guatemala adopted a number of measures to develop the "total quality culture" within the organisation. They include a clear-cut definition of the institutes’ vision and mission, and implementation of the programme known as "the 5 s’s", a management philosophy tat lays down the foundation for a total quality policy.