Occupational Standards provide several benefits for individuals, employers and the economy as a whole.
Individuals gain:
- Recognition, progression and increased mobility (work, education and training-related)
- Improved access to training and qualifications
- Fair and just assessment and development opportunities (due to independent assessment criteria and open access to assessment and qualifications)
Employers gain:
- More relevant education and training provisions and qualifications
- Improved flexibility and competitive advantage
- A better “guarantee” of capability
- A benchmark for use in customised training
- Incentives to employees
- Contribution to Human Resources Management and Development processes (e.g. job descriptions, job evaluation, performance appraisal and career progression)
The economy can gain:
- Increased ability to compete with other economies
- Increased attractiveness of the labour force to foreign investors
- Potential for economic growth
- Consistency in national training provisions
- A better guarantee of available skill sets in the labour force
- Greater labour force planning options
- Clear benchmarks to assure and evaluate quality of training available nationally
- Basis for competence-based qualifications such as N/CVQs
