Quality management in vocational training

Seminar on the dissemination and analysis of quality management experiences
in a number of countries of Latin America. Lima, 15 to 17 November, 2000.

This seminar aimed at bringing together experiences on criteria that have been adopted by vocational training institutions and systems in the region in connection with quality management.

It served the purpose of disseminating the lessons learned in each case.

The seminar agenda included presentations of several experiences of Vocational Training Institutions (VTIs) in quality certification.

In general, such presentations underlined several driving forces that motivate institutions to work on the basis of a quality approach. They pivoted mainly round institutional modernisation procedures, clear-cut guidelines to strengthen an organisational culture and the storing of knowledge gathered in processes of design, development, implementation and evaluation of training.

The Council for the Standardisation and Certification of Occupational Competencies of Mexico (Spanish acronym CONOCER) underlines from its experience the need for teamwork with all workers. Quality implies a shared vision and a common attitude by each and every member of an institution. The CONOCER presentation (powerpoint, 733kb) recalled the Council’s main achievements regarding standardisation and certification and stressed the fact that certification implied constantly learning about the various processes and improving upon them. In an organisation working on the basis of quality you have to "do what you say" and "say what you do" so that in "keeping a record of what is said and done" all processes and activities leading to institutional objectives are reflected.

The National Training Institute of Costa Rica (Spanish acronym INA) underscored in its presentation the importance of a real commitment to quality preached by the example of an institution’s directors and managers themselves. In vocational training bodies, procedures to ensure quality and subsequently certify it require a clear definition of institutional products and the idea of "clients" that are really "interested parties". The INA focused on improving performance rather than on certification itself. Along the lines of quality enhancement it has developed a service for the accreditation of other institutions that dispense training, so that they may rise to levels similar to those demanded by INA itself, and has validated them for users. The work of INA in quality certification has also included consultant services to small and medium enterprises wishing to comply with such standards. The INA presentation (powerpoint, 703 kb) referred to some aspects of the new version of the ISO 9000 standard for the year 2000.

The National Training and Employment Service of Chile (Spanish acronym SENCE) is an outstanding example of quality support by the State through its Ministry of Labour. In this particular case SENCE has implemented efforts to upgrade the quality of the training offered by the OTEC agencies that dispense it. SENCE endeavoured to improve OTEC accreditation procedures and to make them more transparent, having certified them under ISO 9000.

One of the striking aspects of SENCE certification is that it has been the first public organisation in Chile to obtain an ISO 9000 standard. The SENCE presentation (powerpoint, 33 kb) also shows a concern with improving the quality and productivity of social programmes.

The Technical Training and Productivity Institute of Guatemala (Spanish acronym INTECAP) undertook a modernisation process that included all its administrative and operational areas. As a part of it, the management of INTECAP has tried to promote an institutional "quality culture". Besides reforms aimed at improving departments and procedures, it implemented a programme of 5 "s’s" based on the Japanese quality management philosophy. The INTECAP presentation showed how institutional change processes were integrated in preparation for quality certification, i.e. how the ground was prepared for an organisational culture based on quality.

The National Service of Industrial Training, of Peru, (Spanish acronym SENATI) has brought about a significant change on the basis of quality certification under ISO standards. On the premise that "if the process is well performed, a good product will be obtained" SENATI implemented a system for the storing of institutional knowledge. People do their work but many efforts are often lost when procedures are not documented or optimised. Once certification has been introduced, however, the careful application of clear processes becomes a reality, transparent methods for doing things are recognised by everyone. By standardising and raising the efficiency of processes for the design, implementation and evaluation of training, greater confidence and credibility in those services is generated, costs are abated and productivity is boosted. The SENATI presentation (powerpoint, 997 kb) also points to some interesting institutional motivations for adopting a quality management system based on ISO standards, namely: greater co-ordination, better use of resources and the confidence and credibility of users.

The National Industrial Training Service of Brazil (Portuguese acronym SENAI) has embarked on processes to raise the quality of training for some years now. Noteworthy in this respect is its internal management grading in centres of the CENATEC (Technology) and CEMEP (Vocational Education) types. It has adopted three grades or categories (Gold, Silver and Bronze) according to quality requirements. This SENAI approach has enabled participating centres to attain high levels of certification with ISO standards. In fact, the SENAI internal management grading system for CENATEC and CEMEP institutes combines the criteria of national (Brazilian) quality awards with those of ISO standards.

In its long-term strategic plan (1996-2010) SENAI has foreseen a revamping of its educational model and of its organisational structures, together with a personal management policy. Such is the course followed by the Pernambuco SENAI, which has the objective of becoming a reference centre for excellence in occupational education and technical assistance. The experience of the Pernambuco SENAI shows that centres subject to CENATEC-CEMEP grading have all obtained ISO certifications. A patent example of the commitment of the SENAI directors with quality management can be seen in the organisation’s system of incentives to Centres having achieved certification. Such incentives are in the form of allocations of more resources for investment or specific projects.

The SENAI presentation (powerpoint, 2416 kb) shows the main characteristics of SENAI’s involvement with quality internally and externally, with links that go from its connections with the Brazilian Quality and Productivity Programme to its definition of occupational training as its main concern. An important feature of SENAI’s interest in quality is the emphasis it places on the process of improvement and the certification thereof.

Participants also heard the presentations of two certifying bodies of Peru: Bureau Veritas Quality (powerpoint, 414 kb) and SGS (powerpoint, 525 KB), which underlined the versatility of ISO standards that can be applied in different environments with well defined products, processes and users. ISO certifications centre on the control of processes and on providing evidence that the various stages of such control are carried out. All aspects of certification must be designed taking into account the specificities of each organisation.

The representative of INFOTEP, Maura Corporán, submitted a presentation (powepoint 167 kb) on that institution’s quality management system in vocational training, that focuses on productivity.

By way of conclusion, Cinterfor/ILO made a summary of the main driving ideas that had come to light in the seminar. It stressed that attesting to quality was not a new concern in vocational training; the new aspect was the application to it of ISO 9000 standards. In all the cases analysed it could be seen that "quality begins at home" and not in the requirements of some external auditor; that institutions should be legitimately committed to quality and not to certification for its own sake.

The conclusions presented by Cinterfor/ILO (powerpoint 59 kb) also included some comments on the concept of quality management, its general process, key aspects and general prospects.

 

 

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