How Industry and Commerce View the Establishment of NVQ in Sri Lanka and its Benefits Dr. Thusitha Tennakoon Secretary General/CEO Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL)

How Industry and Commerce View at NVQ NVQ's are work-related, competence based qualifications achieved through the acquisition of skills that reflect the competencies and knowledge required to perform a given job (by Employers) efficiently and effectively by employees.

Benefits of NVQ System for Individuals (employees):Industry perspectives NVQ's can support employees career development as well as prepare them for work. It shows that a person can do a job to national/international standards and possesses the up-to-date skills employers are looking for With NVQ's practice is as important as the theory - they show what an employee know as well as what he/she can do. NVQ's are about putting learning into practice.

With the flexibilities in NVQ System, followers can obtain a NVQ of their choice as part of their normal job, work towards one at college or through open learning or private study, or a combination of these. There are virtually no limits with NVQ's - No time limits, no age limits and no strict entry requirements. It gives lifelong learning opportunities to the employees. Disadvantaged groups in the society suffering from long term unemployment due to the lack of appropriate skills for employments can be supported through NVQ. Help women returning to work, by drawing on previously acquired skills, to reach an NVQ level of competence. Employees can learn whilst on the job as NVQ is a work-based qualification.

skill requirement for a particular job/s can be announced according to the skill level/s benchmarked by NVQ so that one can be focused in applying for jobs increased flexibility of NVQ delivery allows candidates to complete individual units of NVQ without compelling them to obtain whole qualification

Benefits of NVQ System for Employers – Industry Perspective NVQ's can help organizations to improve productivity and competitiveness in their fields of operation. Valuable tool for business and human capital development. Improved employee performance and motivation; lower staff turnover; better staff-supervisor relations. NVQ's allow the industries to benchmark standards for their workforce hiring procedure and provide training that can be more specifically targeted to their business needs. The NVQ system offers flexible work-based training. So no work time is lost.

NVQ is a solution to the governments policy decision to export skilled labor to the international labour market. NVQ system can improve competitiveness in the international labour market. With the systematically upgraded skill level of the workforce, Sri Lankan Industries will be able to withstand the highly dynamic technological advancements. Considerable emphasis has been placed by NVQ system on the need to meet the economic growth targets for a more flexible and transferable workforce, and to provide workforce with systematic skill upgrading system to face future challenges in our march to become the Miracle of Asia. Overall Benefits

Major Drawbacks of NVQ System in Sri Lanka As a new initiative, the early development of NVQs is not visible enough to the school leavers and to the general public. No strong communication strategy has been formed to create awareness among HR Managers in the industry and commerce about NVQs. Slower build up of numbers, and it will take several years to obtain proper response for mass participation from Industry and commerce sector and from the general public. There is no exact correlation between a particular academic qualification and a particular vocational qualification in NVQ System to facilitate apprentices to compare, chose and continue courses in the NVQ System.

No clear mechanism of obtaining the feedback of industry and commerce sector in further developing standards and qualification structures and quality assurance measures. Lack of mechanism for timely revision of curricula needed for improvements necessary to address problems/mismatches identified by the Industry and Commerce. The assessment and certification body has established itself as an training provider for the NVQ system and it will lead to possible conflicts of interest. Development of Infrastructure and implementation of all systems and standards required by NVQs pose challenges for private sector training providers due to the financial constraints. With no specific time requirement on completing NVQs, the attainment of full qualifications has usually taken far longer than policy makers looking for quick results.

NVQ assessment and quality assurance require far greater resources than conventional qualifications awarded by Private training providers. In addition to that if implemented badly, unnecessarily bureaucratic procedures and excessive paperwork for employers and trainers can be involved. The duration of the courses are lengthy and associated program cost is very high. Therefore NVQs cannot usually be delivered entirely in a college or school environment without access to suitable work placements. It is clear that the perceived cost of NVQs is still a deterrent for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs). Successful implementation can be difficult without recognition by managers and trainers of the need to provide support and adapt to new ways of working.

Suggestions by Industry and Commerce for Further Developments The policies should be developed to enhance the skill levels of existing workforce though qualifications that are directly related to their occupations and a new evaluation system should be designed to maximize access to assessment and certification at the workplace. increase the relevance and quality of vocational qualifications provision by ensuring a demand-led approach, directly responsive to labor market needs contribute to the achievement of greater labor market flexibility and transferability, ensure greater coherence in TEVT provision (through a rationalized and simplified national disseminating standards within the sector). New forms of local and International co-operation should be obtained especially from industry and commerce sector to develop NVQ system to face the upcoming technological challenges through globalization. Carrying out of occupational mapping to identify the occupations and occupational structures of the industrial sector is a must.

greater participation of industry and commerce from the designing stage of NVQs to the point of training delivery and standardization. public-private partnership (with widely representative apex organization/s of industry & commerce) in the registration of private sector training providers, in the accreditation of training modules, organizing industrial training and quality assurance and certification public sector setting the trend of recognizing NVQ as the entry qualification for those vocations that the NVQs are available. intense social marketing campaign of NVQs and associated benefits among employers, training seekers (especially school leavers) as well as parents.

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