In addition to being used as the basis for developing education/training programmes and underpinning human resource management processes (e.g. job descriptions, job specifications, performance appraisals), the national occupational standards (NOS) are also used to provide recognised certification in the form of the National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQs). TVET Council awards NVQs or CVQs to candidates who are assessed in a real or realistic work setting against the standards and deemed competent in the specific occupational areas and levels.
To produce job descriptions:
A job description specifies the duties, responsibilities and requirements of the job; basing on these competences clearly specifying the standards of performance expected, the skills and knowledge required.
A Standards-based Job Description is important for new staff, new posts and for reorganisations, as well as existing posts:
Using the Occupational Standards and Key/Core Skills means
To create a competence-based performance appraisal procedure that fits the needs and style of the organisation.
Performance appraisal is a formal procedure to ensure that employees receive objective feedback on their performance, in the context of organisational goals and enabling them to improve themselves. It is often used:
It can take many forms and have different objectives. It usually has 5 stages:
A good staff appraisal system encourages:
To help the organisation:
A method of systematically analysing the training & development needs of individuals and groups in an organisation.
Organisations need to ensure that:
Best practice guidance (e.g. the Investors in People standards):
Using the Occupational Standards and Key/Core Skills means:
To provide individuals with an objective view of their own capability: expertise, competence, motivation and ability to learn. To help individuals create a benchmark against which to measure their own performance, in the absence of a formal job description.
Self-appraisal is assessing your own capabilities and personal characteristics. Occupational Standards and Key/Core Skills provide a framework and language with which to describe them.
Employees with realistic self appraisal are more likely to:
This is a general ‘subroutine’ for virtually all applications of the Occupational Standards. You will normally enter this subroutine from any of the main applications.
To identify the Occupational Standards and Core Skills which correspond to a particular job role/occupation.
An Occupational Standard is a national specification of competent performance in the work-place. It defines an element of competence, which people are expected to achieve in the real work environment. It is written in terms shared by all occupations in the sector. These elements represent best current practice and include detailed specifications against which performance can be measured.
An Occupational Standard is expressed in a prescribed format: a title, performance criteria, and range indicators. The Standards, when in NVQs/CVQs, are accompanied by: a specification of evidence that is required for assessment, and the range indicators are made more specific, becoming range statements.
Related Occupational Standards are grouped together to form a Unit - the smallest separate qualification. Units are assembled into NVQs/CVQs, and tailored to describe the competence required for a full occupation.
Core Skills are common to a wide range of tasks. The six core skills are:
These are transferable skills which play an important role in developing personal effectiveness in working life and in the application of particular vocational skills.
Core Skills Standards have been developed by the TVET Council.
In the main application, define clearly what you wish to achieve, your objectives. Then enter these common steps: