14. What is a labour qualification?

Units of competency constitute modules with an evident meaning and value at work. When different units are grouped with a clear occupational set up of the sector under analysis and with a well-defined level of competency, labour qualifications begin to take shape.

Qualifications are not names for job positions. They are groups of competencies that may be taken as reference of job performance at the organisation and also for the design of training programmes. Each job position will have its units of competency well specified and certified for competent performance to take place. A labour qualification can have units that may be applicable to more than one job; thus, favouring labour mobility.

Labour qualifications are a group of units of competency integrated in the environment of a productive function. According to CONOCER,(1) there are, in general terms, a certain similarity between the concept of qualification and profession, since the former has a wide range of performance possibilities at different job positions.

A labour qualification, at a certain specified level of performance, is composed of several units of competency. Units of competency are integrated by elements of competency and these are in turn specified in terms of performance, application range, evidence of knowledge and evidence of performance.

The concept of qualification, used in the Mexican system, among others, may seem similar to the certification system of the United Kingdom and it has been defined by SENA in the following manner: a Labour Certification is the group of Labour Competency Standards that describe the performance required by a certain Occupational Field or Occupation and that workers exercise in several job positions of the productive process using allied and supplementary technologies, sharing a similar working environment, applying common knowledge and principles and delivering similar products in the value chain of the productive system.(2)

According to SENA, all certifications gather competencies belonging to allied occupational areas. They represent relevant performances within an occupational area and, of course, they are not the name of a job position. It can also be the case that several certifications are identified within the same area.(3)

The following are examples of certifications:

“Personnel training and development”
“Printed material production”
“Manufacturing of metal-mechanical products”
“Operation of drinkable water industry plants”

Notice the close link between the names of certifications and the typical processes of functional analysis and how they draw away from the traditional names of job positions.

In this sense, SENAI of Brazil makes use of the concept of vocational qualification,(4) which is defined as a structured group of competencies that can be recognised in the labour market. They may be acquired through training, experience or a combination of both.

Vocational qualifications are taken from the productive system and the labour market; they represent, therefore, a consistent answer to the needs of the corresponding sector. They should be named in a clear and simple way, with the same sort of language employed in the labour world. They are defined in terms of competencies associated with a labour field that is broad enough to generate adequate job opportunities. Its content may favour a training process and they may be subject to certification.

 

 

 

 

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1 CONOCER, Análisis ocupacional y funcional del trabajo, op. cit.
2 SENA, Dirección de Empleo, Metodología para la elaboración de normas de competencia laboral, 2003.
3 SENA, Dirección de empleo, Guía para la elaboración de estudios ocupacionales, 1998.
4 SENAI, Metodologia de Elaboração de Perfis Profissionais, Brasilia, 2002.

 

 

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