Competence in the context of quality management is developing the ability to apply appropriate qualifications, skills, and knowledge to the right activities or operations with the goals of achieving intended results. Employees are considered to be a resource for the realization of products or services and have objectives that are derived from the context of the organization, its strategy, and the processes that operate the QMS. The needs for competences should be defined in a systematic way that can fulfill these goals and objectives. Training and qualifying should be planned in order to enhance the achievement of these goals and objectives.
One critical step in building competence is establishing an effective training and certification process. But before you set the certification process, you must identify and locate the relevant training needs. The trainings and the certifications of employees in a workplace are a process with the purpose of assisting the members of the organization in fulfilling their activities and tasks better and more effectively by introducing them to skills, knowledge, and professional and organizational approaches. Training and certifications may be needed in the following cases:
- Hiring and introducing new personnel
- Improving knowledge and skills
- Reassigning employees
- Introducing innovations in the organization
- Supporting organizational processes
Certification Plan
Each employee that is recruited to the organization and will participate in the realization of goods or services is obliged to go through a planned and documented introduction of the organization and its relevant processes. The plan will cover specific areas and topics in the organization, such as
- Introduction to the organization.
- Administrative and human resources issues, for example, holidays, vacations, working hours, social conditions.
- Introduction to the different zones and areas in the organization and their use: cafeteria, parking places, toilets, and offices.
- Introduction to the organizational structure of the company and to different persons and functions, for example, work colleagues. This is very important for the employees in order to orient themselves in the organization.
- Their part in the realization of product and quality processes.
The plan will be documented and controlled. Records indicating the performance of the plan shall be maintained as documented information.
Training Plan
After defining requirements for qualifications and skills, training, and certification, the organization is required to plan the training or other activities in order to meet these requirements. The objective of the training plan is to fill in the gaps between the training needs and objectives and the current situation of employees and persons that realize the products or services (regarding qualifications and skills). The matter can be completed in four stages:
- The determination of target groups in the organization: departments, workers, divisions, roles, or functions
- The review and evaluation of the status with a defined method
- The identification and mapping of the gaps in the organization
- The development of a training plan according to results obtained
In order to create effective training that will assist your employees and provide them with tools and knowledge for their everyday work, I recommend that persons with the appropriate knowledge, background, and experience in a specific field supervise and navigate the training for each field or area of activity in the organization.
- Training needs: Definitions of qualifications and training requirements relevant to the role of function. I recommend including these definitions as part of the job descriptions. There is a direct relation between the list of activities and the required qualifications to perform it.
- Certification plan: A list of activities and training required to introduce a person
Why choose the book ISO 9001: 2015?
Share This
