Summary

To prosper, successful organisations plan ahead and invest in the training and development of their principal asset, their employees. This section highlights the benefits of Occupational Standards to companies, clients, further education and training institutions, and individuals.  For example, companies can use them to attract and retain the best employees while clients can benefit from higher cost savings through reduced risks and mistakes. Use the links below to find out more.

• Companies

• Clients

• Further education and training institutions

• Individuals

Why use them?

Occupational Standards are used for:

• recruitment and promotion
• job design, performance appraisal and work planning
• assurance of output/service quality
• identification of training and development needs
• providing targets for education and training provision
• assessing competence in professional qualifications
• forming the basis for developing vocational qualifications, including a framework of NVQs   

How companies benefit  

•  increased profitability and competitiveness;

• synergy with quality and performance initiatives;

•  increased effectiveness of managers who also act as assessors;

• a more efficient and more flexible, competent workforce;

• attraction, recruitment and retention of the best employees;

• a more motivated, loyal and committed workforce; 

• certification based on competence, (such as NVQs) is internationally recognised;

• reduced training costs from better targeting and trainer performance;

• better use of existing resources by redeploying and reskilling employees;

• achievable in the workplace.

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How clients benefit 

• cost savings: reduced risk and uncertainty

• confidence in standards of performance that will be achieved

• improvement in project time scales

• improved skill levels and performance giving better value for money

• improved bidding/procurement processes

• higher quality consistency and reliability throughout the supply chain

• improvement in customer - company relationships

• turning good practice into best practice

How further education and training institutions benefit 

Summary

Occupational Standards and NVQs/SVQs offer substantial benefits to further and higher education establishments and training providers.

They provide opportunities to academic and training organisations to improve the support they give employers. For example, such institutions can develop curricula that best suits the occupational needs of the employer.

Other benefits include: 

• increased markets for courses 

• growth of open and distance learning, more flexible and multi-discipline courses

• a new partnership with employers & professional institutions

• opportunities to become approved assessment centres

• opportunity to correlate/ focus teaching/learning programmes with identified industrial needs

• streamlining validation processes

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Benefits to individuals   

Summary

The greatest asset of any organisation is its people.  Organisations which employ individuals who possess NVQs can be assured  of their occupational competence. Further, as the pace of change quickens, systematic recruitment, learning for life and staff development will become a necessity. NVQs provide an ideal avenue to deal with these issues.

These qualifications are equally ideal for people who:

·         are entering the industry for the first time - who can use
Occupational Standards and NVQs as personal development targets to use in conjunction with education and training programmes

·       have a wealth of experience, but who have never been able to take a break from work to study or get formal recognition for their competence - who can build up evidence of competence against Occupational Standards and NVQs relevant to the work they are currently doing

·      have initial academic and professional qualifications within the industry, but who wish to move into other areas of the industry or continue their professional development. They can use Occupational Standards and NVQs as personal development targets

Many organisations are looking to individual employees to plan and drive their own training and career development. Potential benefits include: 

·      building up evidence of competence relevant to the work one is currently doing

·       well-founded confidence in one's own standards of performance leads to job satisfaction, and access to more relevant vocational qualifications

·      evidence of competence enables personal marketability and career progression and change

·      more control of one's own situation and development

·      enhanced self management

·      improved identification and targeting of one's own education and training needs

·      motivation to upgrade skills and continue learning

·      opportunities for structured Continued Professional Development

·      open access (no prerequisite qualifications required)

·      bridges to other areas and levels of qualification

·      achievable in the work place

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