Labour Competency Standards (LCS)

Labour Competency Standards are the standardised description of labour competencies that have been previously identified. It is important to consider LCS with their regular meaning of standards of comparison, rather than as a compulsory legal instrument to comply with. LCS are formed by the knowledge, abilities, skills, comprehension and attitudes –identified in the stage of functional analysis– required for a competent performance of a certain productive function. In this sense, they are an instrument that allows to identify the labour competency required by a certain productive function.

What is the use of labour competency standards?

LCS become a powerful facilitator to create a language shared by all actors in the training processes conducted at the enterprise. LCS define a competent performance against which it is possible to compare the performance observed in a worker and detect the areas of competency that need improvement in order for the worker to be considered competent. They are a clear reference to judge whether the worker has the labour competency in question or not. In this sense, LCS are the basis of a number of processes within human resources management: selection, training, assessment and certification.

Links

• ILO CINTERFOR: 40 Questions on labour competency (http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/ampro/cinterfor/temas/complab/xxxx/index.htm)
• CINTERFOR Publication "Curriculum design based on labour competency standards: concepts and methodological orientations", 2004 (http://cinterfor.org.uy/public/english/region/ampro/cinterfor/publ/manuales/dis_cur.htm)

Category:Standards of quality in TVET