Introduction
The way in which training systems are dealing with labor competence differs between countries and depends, to a large extent, on the evolution that the educational sector has had in incorporating aspects of what is understood by competency-based training.
management-by-labor-competence-in-the-company-and-professional-trainingThe alternation between theory and practice, evaluation based on performance criteria instead of knowledge only, an integrative vision of the subjects to be taught, a flexible way of scaling and navigating between the different subsystems and types of training, individualized rates of progress and modalities of training throughout the working life, among others.
The different forms of approximation and articulation of training systems to the labor competence system can be roughly classified into three types. The first type of articulation is one where initiatives in the direction of training by means of labor competence are born and are directed by the educational system itself. It is usually inserted into a centralized curriculum development scheme (eg Germany, France, Spain). In these cases, the training offer has been experimented and innovated, incorporating modalities linked to a system of labor competence, always under the tutelage of the educational system.
The second type of articulation that is observed is one that starts from the launch of a system of labor competition under the direction of the social agents of production and the government, in which the educational system is one of the members among several other agents. The labor competition system is generally managed by a tripartite council (for example, Great Britain, Australia, Mexico), and the competition rules are generated in a decentralized way, through technical councils at the level of the branch of activity or productive function, made up of representatives of employers and workers, technically supported by specialists from the educational sector.This institutional model has emerged especially in those countries where the educational system had lagged and / or failed to experiment with modalities oriented towards the incorporation of aspects related to labor competence.
The third type of joint can be called a hybrid; They are ways in which the educational system, and generally in a decentralized manner, develops a system of labor competition together with social actors, employers and workers, integrating it into other active labor market policies, for example, of relocation and requalification of labor. in certain sectors (Canada case), or integrating it into a local community development approach (United States). In these cases, the labor competency system is being integrated from areas and experiences at a reduced level or branch of activity, establishing references to competency standards corresponding to high performance (USA) or employment (Canada).
Regardless of the modality and institutional trajectory of the articulation between the training system and the labor competition system, the important thing is to determine the meaning and content of the articulation in the current context of the evolution of markets, technology and business management.. This is the subject of this work, which places the labor competence in the place where it materializes and develops, which is in the management of the organization.
When referring to the concept of vocational training based on competence, the intention is not to present an exhaustive analysis of the problem, but rather to propose some interpretations that are currently taking place in this area. The purpose is to contribute to the aggiornamento of the actors and social agents who are involved in this field, presenting a vision that far from claiming to be "complete" or "closed", seeks to guide the debate on the central points of a complex issue, with its multiple planes of where to approach it, which is vocational training by competence.
The labor competency model consists of several subsystems, articulated among themselves, which are standardization, training-training and certification. Each of these subsystems has its own complexity and internal logic, having as a standardizing axis the concept of competition in the broad expression of its meaning.
In this work, the emergence of vocational training due to labor competition will be considered based on the transformations that are appearing in the business world. The characteristics of these transformations are also the generic references of what is currently understood as labor competence and training based on it, placing it within the organization's learning process, which in turn is the inexhaustible source of companies' productivity and competitiveness strategy in an open and complex environment. This is the focus of the first chapter.
In the second chapter, the issue of standardization of labor competence, its meaning in the context of the innovation trajectories of companies, as well as the critical points that arise around it will be addressed. The elaboration of the competition norm appears as part of the "new" professional training. In the third chapter, the core of standardization, which is transferability, its scope and limits, the interpretation of its meaning for vocational training and its relationship with the labor market and employment will be investigated.
The fourth chapter focuses on some pedagogical characteristics of training for competence
labor, closing the fifth chapter with business and union perspectives on vocational training based on job competition.
1. Conceptual approach and emergence of labor competence
The conceptual approach to labor competence is not intended to be presented here in the context of education and society, but rather to be presented from a limited perspective of the lower level of the company or productive unit. At this level, two approaches to labor competence can be distinguished: the structural and the dynamic. Both approaches include models that are not mutually exclusive, but rather emphasize different aspects of competence, which on the practical level of vocational training management can be combined, without necessarily implying a methodological conflict and / or lack of consistency in the process. of the application of the management model by labor competence.
1.1. Structural approach
. A first definition is: training people in a set of knowledge, skills, attitudes and aptitudes required to achieve a certain result in a work environment. Expressed in this way, the concept is not new, since in the history of vocational training the term competence understood under these elements appears with more or less emphasis. Defining it in this way places it on a historical plane, which although it gives it a firm and hardly questionable basis, apparently does not give it the critical or strategic sense that it has today for organizations, companies and providers of professional training, as well as for individuals and society in general.
However, this definition raises two decisive facets that give it an important meaning in the context of the relationship between professional training and work;
1) The first facet that characterizes the concept of competence is the enumeration of a set of attributes of the person, which are not limited to knowledge, but include skills, attitudes, communication and personality, that is, it defines training in a way that comprehensive, reflecting the different dimensions that the act of working represents and is not limited to knowledge only.
2) The second facet is the explicit relationship established between these attributes and the required result or performance. It tries to close the traditional chasm between qualification, understood as a collection of knowledge and skills, and the specific performance required in the company or organization. It is a proposal to increase the possibility that the acquisition of new knowledge and skills will effectively lead to a superior performance or result of the organization. As those responsible for learning in companies demonstrate, for these attributes to culminate in results, an application is required, which in turn is determined by what the company has advanced in the management of human resources and the organization of work,in the innovation of the organization of production and the technology of the product and process, and in determining its modules and / or market segments where it can develop a competitive advantage. (Hooper, 1997.)
1.2. Dynamic focus
The dynamic approach starts from the context of the evolution of the market in which organizations operate. Far from being contradictory to the structural approach, it can be considered complementary, placing the emphasis on other aspects of vocational training in the face of the characteristics of today's world of work.
The evolution of the markets can be characterized by four phenomena that occur simultaneously
one). The first is the greater complexity in the parameters under which the products and services are offered. While before there was a clear segmentation of the markets in terms of price, quality, design and customer service, currently there is a trend towards the convergence of these criteria, to the simultaneity of their presence. It is already difficult to find segments governed solely by price or quality. The parameters are being combined, and although differences will remain between the segments, they are no longer as absolute as in the past they used to be. A product that claims to be of high quality also has to take care of its price more and more, and vice versa, a product in the low-price segment is being forced to improve its quality, its design and its customer or consumer service.
2) A second phenomenon is the trend towards market opening, which means the presence of a greater variety of options in the same market segment and at the same time the possibility of access to much more markets than before. However, despite the globalization trend, the markets are not uniform and have peculiar characteristics to which companies have to respond with agility and flexibility in terms of product and service model options. This demands a greater adaptability than in the past.
3) A third phenomenon is the greater dynamism in the markets, caused by the higher exposure to various impulses and signs of change, generating less permanence of the positions of the products in the market. Furthermore, advances in communication are allowing the considered best production practices to spread more quickly on the planet, forcing companies to be more dynamic in their product and process innovation strategies. For example, previously the automotive industry, in this case Ford, calculated a depreciation time of its installed equipment of 16 years or more, currently they are calculating it from seven to nine years. (Interview with the financial manager of Ford Mexico.)
| WHAT IS THE MARKET STANDARD THAT RESULTS |
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4) A fourth phenomenon is the greater demand in the parameter levels under which the market operates. Companies have to compete against a greater number of competitors than before. The requirement is the factor that marks the level of the other three mentioned phenomena, constituting an important factor that drives the interrelation between the four mentioned phenomena.
These four phenomena or dimensions that characterize the general trend of market standards present the company with two possibilities of strategy, explicitly or implicitly formulated, for survival and development, which maintain a certain degree of hierarchy from one another. The first is to follow the global market trend, incorporating the elements of the four phenomena mentioned above into its market and production strategy; that is, "get on the modernization train." That is, apply quality assurance and improvement systems (total quality, ISO 9000, work groups), debug and streamline the organization (reengineering, subcontracting), automate information systems with computer networks and mechanize some process with new equipment purchased in the capital goods market.Given the greater number of market participants, the possibility of standing out as a company depends on your learning capacity to assimilate and develop these four dimensions that characterize market dynamics.
| EST-RATÉGICAS OPTIONS |
PURIFIED PRODUCTION TOTAL QUALITY ISO 9000
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The second possibility of strategy, and which must be understood in addition to the first, is to try to differentiate yourself in the market, introducing in the four dimensions of the standards aspects that make it unique compared to the others. In fact, all companies have their unique aspects that differentiate them from others, ultimately being the basis of economic and social development in a country or region; however, they are not always considered essential in your competitiveness strategy. In the context of the globalization of markets and more intense and direct communication, the paradox is that companies tend to follow common or similar innovation paths, "self-reducing" the possibilities of differentiation and development. To get out of this paradox,They should put more emphasis on those aspects that make them unique and that are difficult for third parties to copy.
| WHAT IS THE PERFORMANCE STANDARD FOR DEVELOPING COMPETITIVE CAPACITY |
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The company's performance standard constitutes, on the one hand, the four dimensions of the market model, and, on the other, the ability to excel in them, that is, to be competent. Competition in the dynamic approach then contains a dimension of comparison; the company and the person are competent not so much for fulfilling an accepted minimum performance, but for having the ability to excel in the environment, thanks to the development and mobilization of the unique or key competences available to them.
| THE ABILITY TO HIGHLIGHT DEPENDS ON… |
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There are many aspects that make the company unique; however, it is important to distinguish which of them make it really competent to master market standards, and which others represent its incompetence to achieve those standards.
| KEY COMPETENCES OF THE COMPANY |
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The unique aspects of the company that make it stand out positively are those that make up its key competencies, which are generally not the equipment or facilities it has, but rather the critical relationships that are configured to mobilize resources; not just any resource, but those that contribute to the dynamics of innovation, to continuous product and process improvement.
They are the resources that are difficult to quantify and sometimes to identify, which constitute the store of knowledge and skills, of competences, that the company can mobilize in the face of production needs, market opportunities or unforeseen problems. In the recent literature on business administration, it has been called the organization's intellectual capital, a product of the organization's resource architecture, which must be continuously developed, managed and innovated, thus forming a set of non-tangible assets of the company but decisive for its ability to stand out in the market.
| KEY COMPETENCIES THAT MAKE THE COMPANY'S RESOURCE ARCHITECTURE | |
In this resource architecture, two elements stand out that are directly related to labor competition. The first is the personnel, who in this perspective are explicitly recognized for their ability to contribute to the organization's learning, a resource that the organization has at its disposal to mobilize in its innovation strategy.
The second is the professional technical school, which can physically be present in the company's network of resources, but it is rarely incorporated into the strategy of innovation and development of human resources.
2. The normalization of labor competence
The five mentioned criteria that configure, in general terms, the performance standard of the company in the market, are projected in the performance criteria of the personnel in the companies, and thus provide a basis for regulating labor competition. Standardization aims to give direction to the development of skills in the company, constituting a common reference for the members of the organization on how to guide and evaluate their learning; Thus, it also represents a benchmark for the recognition of the competition reached by individuals, both within the company and in the labor market.
2.1. Innovation trajectories and the nature of labor competition
Following the reasoning of the structural model presented in the previous section, the projection of the performance standards of the company in what is expected as performance of the work of each person is not direct. It is mediated by the trajectories of innovation in technology and organization in companies.
Like the characterization of the markets, the innovation trajectories, which are the basis for the sustained improvement of productivity in organizations, are not unique, nor are they applied and / or followed at the same rate by companies. There is heterogeneity in the direction, timing and depth of applied innovations, if analyzed and compared on a case-by-case basis. However, abstracting from the individual peculiarities of the innovation trajectories followed, a characterization can be reached that helps to understand the evolution of labor competition in companies.
| THE IMPROVEMENT OF PRODUCTIVITY | |
Innovation in different areas of the company is the basis for improving productivity. Empirical studies suggest that the most effective trajectories of innovation, in terms of impact on productivity improvement, are those where, simultaneously, innovations are introduced in technology, organization and human resource management systems. (Mertens, 1997-2.) In this simultaneity there may be a different emphasis placed on each of these subsystems over time, with a trend of alternation dynamics being observed, without this having a predetermined directionality. (Ibid.) That is, having emphasized in the first period in the organization of production, it did not mean that in the second period the company was going to do the same in technology or in human resources management:both could occur.
What is important to mention here, because it is directly related to labor competence, is that the simultaneity of initiatives also occurred within the human resources subsystem, while at the same time innovating the education and training systems, of selection, remuneration, participation and ergonomics. This points to the fact that the introduction of management by labor competence in the company can hardly be done if the innovation of the other subsystems of human resource management is not considered at some point, thus placing it within labor relations, of the negotiation between the different social actors of the production. Consequently, complicated relationships and work environment hinder the introduction of management by labor competence.
Returning to the concept of innovation trajectory, it refers to the different aspects that characterize a dynamics of application of new knowledge in the field of production: rhythm, direction, depth, difficulty, abandonment and pendulum movement of initiatives.
Innovation, in turn, is the product of an institutional or organizational learning process, in which institutional order factors such as organizational culture, labor relations and environmental influences intervene. It involves learning to do and exploring, the knowledge base accumulated over time, the act of creation and the need to unlearn or forget routines or actions that cease to be functional or perhaps never have been.
| THE 60'S: LINEAR RELATIONS | |
As the diagram shows, the learning process that leads to innovation is complex because of so many elements and factors involved. The pressure that arises from the market to accelerate innovation in order to achieve a sustained improvement in productivity, on the one hand, and, on the other, the characteristics with which innovations in technology and organization reach the company, have profoundly modified the role of staff in general, and of the worker or operator in particular, in learning the organization.
Whereas in the past the tendency was that a good part of the innovation came "incorporated" into the machinery or equipment, and the organization systems (studies of times and movements, for example) were introduced as "closed" techniques, putting capital Intellectual of the organization under direct control of the management, at present a contrary trend is observed. Technological innovations often come as open systems, whose performance depends on the learning capacity of the users of the same. Clear example is informatics applied to the production process. In the same way, the new systems of organization of production and work are open, and their effectiveness will depend on the ability to turn them into new work routines.
Another important factor that has influenced innovations to be increasingly the product of an endogenous effort by the organization, is the need to generate differentiation in the innovation strategy in a market that tends to be homogeneous due to everything mentioned in the previous chapter.
| THE 90'S: THE SYNERGY BETWEEN ORGANIZATION AND INNOVATION | |
On the other hand, the innovation trajectory tends to slide in a more complex direction, overlapping initiatives on initiatives, which in turn work as subsystems with their own internal dynamics but which need to be articulated at another time in the organization's strategy. For example, at the same time that a company introduces networked computing systems, reduces personnel to optimize operations, limits hierarchical levels to simplify organization, introduces work teams for continuous improvement and customer service schemes, wants to ensure quality through ISO and redefines mission and values; All this makes the innovation strategy become increasingly complex and at the same time demanding towards the personnel in the organization;Added to this is the greater speed with which technological and organizational innovations occur.
| ORGANIZATION TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY AND ORGANIZATION | Systems |
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The trends towards openness, complexity and dynamism occur not only at the market level, but also in the innovation trajectories of technology and organization, although with their specific expression. In other words, it is the learning of the organization that acquires these characteristics, in addition to the requirement, which has been projected directly from the trends in the market.
The organization's learning under these characteristics cannot be done if it is not with the involvement of the worker, although the depth and scope will vary in each case. The set of tasks that this dynamic assigns to it makes it an active participant in the development of intellectual capital and the ability to learn in the company. This is expressed in work organization modalities that reproduce the trends indicated in innovation: open, complex and dynamic. The figure of multi-skill in the position and multi-functionality in the area appear as the clearest and at the same time outstanding expressions of work organization innovation, with tasks of quality control and assurance, process management and, little by little. little, the conservation and programming of the equipment,although this is a slower learning process. (Mertens, 1997-2.)
An example of how these learning trends are projected in the profile of the expected development of the worker is the case that has been studied in three leading companies in their respective branches in Mexico. The workers themselves, together with the respective managements, identified approximately 16 areas of activity that they carry out continuously, apart from the manipulation of equipment or machinery in the workplace; in addition, they carry out four other additional tasks irregularly.
The activities identified were very similar between the three plants, with the exception of maintaining the work area and preparing written reports, which in the case of the component company, were not carried out by the operator. In general activities, interventions to solve problems and unforeseen events stand out, although it is also striking that they focus on those of the routine type and much less on those of the non-routine type. That is, the direction of exploration to solve problems is limited to the knowledge and current thinking that workers have, based on established knowledge. (Gjerding, 1992.) In the same way, the operator carries out activities and has a certain degree of autonomy to ensure the quality of the process while not departing from the established procedures.It is a controlled autonomy, because much less frequently it carries out process improvement activities on its own; In the same way, it can be concluded that these companies are characterized by a limited qualifying environment as regards the application of new advances in knowledge.
Although there is a routine basis in all these activities that the operator performs, the nature of them makes it difficult to describe in detail the sequence and the way to carry them out; How to describe the task of solving errors or making quick decisions? And how do you introduce a worker to this qualification? In other words, the traditional linear relationship between training, task and result is lost. It is the complex interaction of various tasks that is supposed to lead to the result; By definition, a complex interrelation cannot be described in detail, because complexity means the impossibility of constantly connecting all the elements that make up the set of activities that the operator has to carry out. (Luhmann, 1991.) This implies that the competence is determined by separate tasks and / or the simple sum of them, but by the ability to master and articulate work situations that must aim at certain objectives.
It is interesting to point out that the spaces of activity between these three leading companies are very similar, which would point to a certain degree of homogeneity in the path of the rating as a result of the innovations followed. However, it may be more appearance than reality, to the extent that activities are taken as discrete units, when in practice the meaning of, for example, making quick decisions is very different in the case of the component company than in that of the steelmaker; Also, the decision may be of lesser or greater impact. That is, they are open concepts that are not free from ambiguity; inferring and extrapolating from these activities the nuclear skills of a highly complex company, seems to lead to content understood in a non-uniform way between actors and educators2.
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Synoptic table ACTIVITIES PERFORMED BY THE OPERATOR 1 Three leading companies: automotive, components, steel (1996) |
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| Activities generally performed by operator | Activities rarely or never performed by the operator |
General:
Specific:
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Sometimes:
Not done:
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1 It is the conjunction of the opinion of the union and workers with that of the management of the respective plants. The list is the activities that the operators carry out in each of the plants.
2 In England, the NCVQ went on to determine six basic qualifications, which included communication, number application, computer technology, teamwork, improving their own learning, problem solving. However, a recent investigation on labor employability mentioned among its recommendations that the term of basic skills or qualifications should not continue to be used due to the variety of interpretations that are being given to the elements that compose them. (IiE, 1996.).
The knowledge and skills required to carry out these activities, indicated by the actors themselves, lead to an approach of the new cognitive, motor and attitudinal spaces, but not to the precise content of them. Undoubtedly, it is an important reference for the construction of the curriculum, although it needs to be previously sized based on a validation process with the actors.
| EVOLUTION OF TASKS TOWARDS FUNCTIONS | |
The learning trajectory of the worker is ultimately determined by the organization of work, although this in turn is conditioned by the technological and organizational dynamics of production. The trends observed in the organization of work, both in the aforementioned cases and in other empirical studies, show that it is evolving in four directions at the same time, although the depth and scope varies from case to case.
These four axes are: the simplification and standardization of tasks, in order to keep operating costs low; the expansion of tasks, adding to the worker a series of functions that signify new skills without greatly altering the cognitive base (for example, operating several machines at the same time, keeping the work area clean, being able to perform different coupling operations, inspect and record product and process quality); technical enrichment, adding to the worker tasks that represent new skills and knowledge, modifying the cognitive base (for example, keeping statistical control of the process, performing preventive and predictive maintenance on the equipment, programming and preparing equipment and machinery); social and managerial enrichment,incorporating to the worker functions of administration of the process, of contributing ideas for continuous improvement, of taking responsibility for decisions about the process (for example: simplification of hierarchical structures, work teams and quality controls, highly complex groups and / or auto steering).
In this context, labor competence, understood as a synonym of the ability to perform predetermined tasks in terms of sequence and content in the job, is in crisis, at least in those companies that seek to transform into learning and innovation organizations.
2.2. Standardization of labor competence as part of the organization's learning process
The contents and integration of the person's tasks tend to evolve in the direction of open, complex and dynamic systems, following the logic of the market and the trajectories of innovation in technology and organization of production, with the specificity of the field of organization of tasks and functions.
When tasks and functions are mentioned, an important field of job competence is entered. In a highly fragmented technical and social division of labor, the functions that workers had to fulfill constituted the sum of assigned tasks, relatively easy to identify and describe, based on the analysis of times and movements and the occupation or position. In the new context, functions, by definition, remain a sum or integration of tasks. However, and in accordance with what has been pointed out regarding the trend of expansion and enrichment of tasks, which in turn is due to the openness and complexity of the trajectories of technological innovation and productive organization, describe in detail each of the tasks and their sequence has lost its meaning, due to the complexity,openness and dynamism that the functions assigned to the worker are acquiring.
It is enough to underline the meaning of the concept of complexity, from the perspective of systems theory, in this context. The complexity and openness of the task system that the worker has to perform to fulfill his new functions make the missions of the operators in their details less controllable and predictable. In the face of the functions to be fulfilled, contingency grows, that is, the possibility of being able to reach the objective by more than one way of carrying out tasks, and also by the possibility of failing even in the most favorable formation of the missions and their elements. (Luhmann, 1991.)
The fact that the company as a system becomes more complex forces its members to select, which makes the company an organization where selection processes occur coercively, which means contingency, and this involves risk. The selection locates, qualifies and orders the elements, although other ways of relating were possible for them. This "being possible also in another way" and the possibility of failure even in the most favorable condition of the elements, is contingency, and it is what characterizes the complex organization. (Ibid.)
A greater complexity of innovation systems and, as a consequence, of mission in companies, which requires selective behavior, also requires greater adaptability in personal systems. This greater adaptability translates into a requirement of the ability to learn, which is a competence that can be used intensively occasionally and therefore must be permanently available. (Luhmann, Schorr, 1993.)
Seen from this perspective, it makes more sense to express and classify labor competence from functions rather than as an exhaustive sum of tasks. This does not mean that no tasks appear in the description of the functions, nor does it mean that the analysis of tasks is no longer useful or valid in the definition of the functions. What it is about is to achieve the synthesis of tasks, generally without going into the details of each one, with the exception of when those details are key elements in the operation. The worker or individual is left a degree of freedom to build the articulation between tasks, according to their abilities and points of view, always keeping the objective or result as the axis of their actions. Thus, the description of functions in the labor competition model,It appears as a mixture of different levels of grouping of tasks, according to the specificity of the branch and the path of innovation followed by the company. Sometimes the result of a task is essential in the process, and as such it will have to be expressed in the functions; other times, it is the sum of several tasks that becomes important for their articulation between each one of them, for which reason it is preferable to go to the synthesis of these. In any case, the functions are formulated from the idea of contingency, of the probability of a result, always admitting that there is a risk that the result will not be met.it will have to be expressed in the functions; other times, it is the sum of several tasks that becomes important for their articulation between each one of them, for which reason it is preferable to go to the synthesis of these. In any case, the functions are formulated from the idea of contingency, of the probability of a result, always admitting that there is a risk that the result will not be met.it will have to be expressed in the functions; other times, it is the sum of several tasks that becomes important for their articulation between each one of them, for which reason it is preferable to go to the synthesis of these. In any case, the functions are formulated from the idea of contingency, of the probability of a result, always admitting that there is a risk that the result will not be met.
Formulated in another way, and in accordance with the structural concept raised in the first chapter, the description of labor competence is expressed in terms of demonstrable knowledge, skills, attitudes and results (performances), with the probability that these lead to compliance with the function; There is no absolute security. This point, which may appear obvious and / or logical in the practice of the construction of labor competence and the competences that comprise it, is a matter of discussion, controversy and redefinition of the terms in which they are expressed.
Delimiting competencies aims to develop a common reference for the members of the company, how to guide individual learning so that it makes sense in the operation and learning of the organization as a whole.
| LABOR COMPETITION STANDARD | |
There are various approaches to how to get to work competence and how to express and define it. The best known are occupational, functional, behavioral, and constructivist analysis. (Mertens, 1977-1.) Each has its advantages and disadvantages, which in practice has led companies to tend to choose the one that suits them best, according to the characteristics of their organization. In this paper we will not address the different approaches, focusing on standardization as part of the general management model for labor competence.
The idea is that standardization will become part of the language of the organization, and that it must articulate individual efforts with groups in learning. To the extent that the company does not assume an organizational learning strategy, involving workers in it, it is difficult for the normalization of competition to meet the aforementioned objective and will become a dead letter, or a standard that the individual has to comply to do well what has always been done.
The learning of the person in the company is conditioned by two factors, which for some analysts are the fundamental question of (singular) labor competition and that precede the set of professional knowledge and skills. (Zarifian, 1996.) The first is to assume personal responsibility in the face of production situations, which means a social attitude of the person, so that they act on their own in the face of the complexity of the tasks to be carried out and the unforeseen situations to resolve. This commitment is highly subjective and means mobilizing the intelligence of the individual, but also making them assume the risks of eventual failure and the corresponding negative reaction of management and other workers. "A person who accepts and can, subjectively speaking,Mobilizing this social attitude will make it easier to learn that the person is in a position of defense or rejection. " (Ibid.)
| OBJECTIVE OF THE STANDARDIZATION OF LABOR COMPETENCE | System that stimulates and manages staff learning through the mobilization of knowledge:
a) Assume a responsibility and social attitude of involvement. b) Systematic exercise of reflecting at work. |
To achieve this in the process of development and description of labor competency, the company must take care of aspects such as granting real autonomy to the worker, sufficient information and knowledge about the management of the process and recognizing it in terms of compensation in some way. moment of the process.
The second factor that determines staff learning is the systematic exercise of reflection in and before work, understood as taking critical distance from the work being done, questioning their way of working and the knowledge they mobilize to carry out tasks.. This reflection becomes more necessary as technical and organizational changes are becoming more frequent and profound. It cannot be done in a pre-established way, nor can it be imposed authoritatively; It must come from the people themselves and can be developed and accompanied by instructors or trainers. (Ibid.)
This could be verified in the pilot experience that is being developed in a sugar mill in Mexico, in a joint effort between the CIMO (Integral Quality and Modernization) program of the Ministry of Labor, the ILO (International Labor Organization) and the KNOW (Council for Standardization and Certification of Labor Competence). In this case, it was necessary to start by creating a collective and individual social environment, aimed at making a learning dynamic emerge at all levels of the company. In a context of lack of communication between workers and senior managers, with no information flowing from management to workers,With a minimum of autonomy assigned to the operator and labor relations that prevented workers from taking on responsibilities beyond their pre-established routine job duties, there was no point in beginning to describe the technical standards of competence. It took two years of intensive work to create a favorable social environment for learning and to reach the first standards of competence that operators had to develop in order to achieve an expected effective performance. The superintendent's reaction to the technical creation of the standards was: "Now we have at least one criterion in common among the supervisors themselves, what should we understand about what for us is a" good worker ",since in the past a worker was good for supervisor "x" while for supervisor "y" it was not. This system allows us to standardize our ideas of how and on what aspects people should be trained. "
2.3. Consequences for vocational training
What has been said above leads to posing an important challenge for professional technical training and explains the crisis in which both the school model, built on the basis of the principle of knowledge and behavior transfer, and the model based exclusively on the acquisition of knowledge through experience, preparing and training «on the job». (Ibid.)
These two models are out of phase with the productive reality described above for two fundamental reasons. (Ibid.) The first reason is that a part of the required knowledge does not exist, particularly the contextual knowledge that allows dealing with unforeseen situations and / or leading to innovations and continuous improvement. This knowledge cannot be reproduced if it is not at the time of the real work situations and from a reflection and analysis of the situation by the company personnel. This means that the first model, based on the mere transfer of knowledge and skills, even if they were based on demonstrable results («competence», sic), does not correspond to training by competences for the company.To this it must be added that the knowledge transferred by the school years are ultimately supports for understanding the problems and finding their solutions, but at no time a recipe book that can be applied mechanically.
The second reason leads to "on the job" training, often through more experienced workers. This training strategy is based on the assumption that the professional situation remains stable and that the corresponding knowledge is durable and transferable throughout the work experience, a situation that does not correspond to the innovation path of companies or the trend in content. and integration of tasks in people.
| LEARNING CYCLE | |
This leads to the need to modify the learning scheme and, with it, the professional technical training strategy. The challenge is to link and articulate various times and moments in learning.
At the time of the performance of the function, the worker not only applies and practices knowledge acquired in moments of reflection and "formal" training, but also discovers and learns by working, thus developing his competence.
At the time of the debate, through meetings with colleagues, supervisors and technicians, the worker not only broadens and deepens his individual competence in a "self-referential" manner, but also learns and makes others learn about certain knowledge necessary to solve and / or face similar situations.
In formal classroom training, the main objective is to accompany the trainees so that they are in better conditions to face new professional situations or to better face the known situations in production, taking up real problems of productive practice and introducing them to the debate., in such a way that the trainees can autonomously assume responsibility in a work situation. (Ibid.)
The moment of experimentation is the culmination of the learning circle and is the application of change in practice. This requires that there be a close relationship between those responsible for training and the management in charge of production, placing professional technical training at the level of work organization.
These four moments require that the main instructor-trainer of the worker must be someone who is in production management, preferably the supervisor. This in turn requires modifying the role of the supervisor: from a foreman to an instructor-facilitator and evaluator. It also requires another circle of learning or competence development to be done: the supervisor as the trainee, guided and instructed by the production manager and / or by specialists in some subject (for example, maintenance).
| BASIC COMPONENTS OF THE JOB COMPETENCE SYSTEM |
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The norm of competence as a reference for learning serves as the basis for developing the curriculum, although it should be noted that this is not a linear sequence and requires effort and a specific methodology. This is because the competition rules refer to results and knowledge, skills and attitudes expressed in general terms, even when dealing with the company level. In order to arrive at a curriculum, the most precise theoretical-practical references will have to be established to guide the learning of the individual, establishing the steps to be followed and the components that comprise it, including the development of didactic guides in support of obtaining competence..
There are different ways and approaches to integrate the curriculum. Following the approach of first creating an environment in which labor competence (unique) can emerge and mobilize, understood by its meaning of assuming responsibility for situations in production and the ability to do a systematic exercise of reflection; in other words, the ability to learn; This is not achieved if it is not through the appropriation of (plural) technical skills, quality management, communication and initiatives. (Ibid.) The integration of these competences in a curriculum can each be done separately, or integrated as part of each one of the required professional technical competences.
Another way to classify competences is by different types of knowledge: knowledge of general knowledge of know-how (abilities and skills) and of knowing-being (ability to relate, communicate and social behaviors). There are even analysts, especially from the "French school", who further subdivide this knowledge, while acknowledging in turn that competencies refer to integrated capacities and not the simple sum of knowledge. Knowledge constitutes in this vision a capital of resources that, combined in certain ways, constitute the competences required for a specific activity and a performance resulting in turn from one or more activities. The proposed classification of knowledge is as follows (Bellier, 1997): theoretical knowledge, knowledge of the environment, knowledge of procedures, technical know-how, operational know-how,know-how in terms of procedures, know-how in relating to other people, social know-how.
In Mexico, and in analogy with the British system, the CONOCER rules (Council for the Standardization and Certification of Labor Competence) propose the following aspects as a conceptual framework (CONOCER, 1996):
"An individual's ability to perform the same productive function in different work contexts and based on the expected results."
This acceptance implies recognizing that the labor competence is essentially conformed with three types of perceptible capacities for the performance of an individual:
- a) The ability to transfer knowledge, abilities or skills (…). b) The ability to solve problems associated with a productive function (…). c) The ability to obtain quality results (…) »
More specifically, in relation to the Technical Norm of Labor Competence it stipulates that it should reflect (Ibid):
- The competence to manage the task The competence to work in a health and safety framework The aptitude to perform in an organized environment, to interact with third parties and to resolve contingent situations The aptitude to transfer the competence of a job to another and from one context to another. The ability to respond positively to technological changes and work methods. The knowledge and skills required for efficient performance of the job function.
A study carried out in England on education and employability in the labor market proposes a scheme based on attributes (knowledge and understanding, aptitudes and personality, knowledge for the development of abilities, abilities and skills, personal qualities), whose classification obeys not only to its nature, but also to its way of acquiring and evaluating. (IiE, 1996.)
In the development of the curriculum other questions are raised, beyond their thematic classification. «Should a curriculum be“ represented ”in stages that allow a beginner to become an expert based on an analysis of the levels of competence at each stage, or should some pedagogical method be used, such as problem-based learning (…) ? » (Gonczi, 1997.) In this context, it is worth mentioning dual training, which is being experimented in several Latin American countries (for example, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, among others), and which attempts to combine theory and practice to young people, newcomers to the job market. The problem with dual training is that it is not an answer for active staff and that it requires training.
Without claiming to have addressed all aspects related to the curriculum, we move on to education and training. The training based on competencies, obeys a plan that contemplates, describes and programs how to influence the different phases of learning mentioned above, taking the curriculum as a reference, as well as the evaluation mechanisms of the different acts of training. It also includes the instrumentation of the didactic guides and the self-evaluation mechanisms of the trainees. Later, in another chapter, the topic of training will be taken up again.
The evaluation plan closes the circle of the instruments of implementation of the management by labor competency, having as objective in the first place to lead the learning by means of the consultation and instruction; Certification can be a second objective of the evaluation act, although this requires compliance with some other requirements, depending on whether the certification is at the company level or at the branch of activity level.
The competence standard serves not only as a reference for this complex process that is effective learning, but also to direct other facets of human resources management in the company: the recruitment, selection and promotion of personnel; performance evaluation and compensation; education and training, promotion and preparation for the job market. In other words, it is also a proposal for comprehensive innovation in human resource management, articulating the different moments and subsystems that affect the effective performance of the individual and the company.
However, it is important to recognize that the relationship also occurs in an inverse way: when the company does not have an environment and a disposition of the management and the union to enrich the tasks and innovate the training systems.
4. Training for labor competence
Throughout the work, aspects that give solidity to the characterization of what should be understood by a training-training have been listed, at least from the perspective adopted here of the management of human resources in the company. Without trying to describe all its components, points of view and controversy of what would be understood by training by labor competence, we consider it useful to propose at least some of its principles. To delimit the scope of discussion, training will be defined here in broad terms: all training acts or events directly or indirectly related to improving performance at work and / or the professional development of the person.We will not review in this part the planning aspects of training by labor competency and its articulation with the human resources management in general of the company, but will focus on the act of training itself, which does not diminish the importance of what has been said. above regarding the need to first create a learning environment in the organization.
| JOB COMPETENCE | |
One of the main objectives of job skills is to help break down the inertias or obstacles that to date have prevented companies from streamlining the training and education of their personnel. This is particularly important in Latin America, where research indicates that training is still very limited in general terms. In part, this is due to the problems that companies face to implement training programs, sometimes because they do not know how to direct it in the most appropriate way for the company's objectives, sometimes also because they mean costs and sometimes for fear of starting to move the entire structure of categories and remuneration. (Mertens, 1997-1.)
It is precisely the person's approach to the required performance in the organization that has been the main reason for introducing a management system for labor competence in the United Kingdom, as well as improving personal development and achieving a change in culture. of the organization. (Competency, 1995.)
The experiences seem to confirm that the introduction of the management by labor competition in the companies has put the training in the agenda of the actions. Even the most critical analysts to the NVQ system in Britain acknowledge that the issue of competition rules has helped organizations to give more importance and a clearer profile to training. "Any initiative that has the effect of encouraging discussion and that leads to the decision to educate and train in work organizations is useful." (Hamlin, Stewart, 1993.)
Probably, the main characteristic of competence training is its orientation to practice, on the one hand, and the possibility of a quasi-natural and continuous insertion in the productive life of the person. The fact that competence means solving a problem or achieving a result, turns the curriculum into a comprehensive education, as general knowledge, professional knowledge and work experience are mixed in the problem, areas that were traditionally separated. (Gonczi, Athanasou, 1996.)
The main characteristics of a competency training program are as follows (adaptation based on Harris, et. Al., 1991):
|
The advantages of a curriculum focused on problem solving are, among others (Ibid):
- takes into account how you learn; concentrates on authentic activities when deep learning is required; attaches more importance to teaching how to learn than to assimilating knowledge; is more valid than a discipline-based approach; is more flexible than other methods.
The approach to teaching by problems can be combined very well with training by alternation, which proposes the coming and going between classroom and practice.
Other characteristics are the possibility of individualized teaching and modular advancement, which allows the individual to better match his personal attributes and abilities with training needs.
The tests are also more stimulating because the standard to be reached is not a secret but is known to the person beforehand and this guides their learning efforts.
The characteristics of a competency training had already been identified by researchers in the early 1980s. In recent research on the application of these characteristics in training programs in Australia, it was found that the implementation of all these elements is still very limited. In other words, although some or several of the aspects were found to a lesser or greater extent in the training programs, there were few cases where all the elements were explicitly present. (Harris, et. Al., 1991.)
This requires that the educational and training offer be transformed simultaneously in order to respond to the competition rules that appear. The predominant educational model, based on teaching determined by courses and organized on the basis of pre-established programs, is becoming inoperative in the face of the demand that arises from the new competences. It will be necessary to look for how to evolve towards a less academic approach and more oriented to the analysis of the individual and collective needs of the workers. This change is inscribed in the modification of pedagogical styles, which must move from a logic that "to educate you have to teach" to an approach that "to train, you must develop the skills of how to learn." (Bellier, 1997.)
The transition to a “learn to learn” model is not easy or evident, and represents a profound change in training management. Undoubtedly, one of the great challenges is the administration of «knowing how to learn», translated into a practical instrument in the hands of the management of the company and of the workers themselves.
From the perspective of the company's productivity and competitiveness strategy, the administration of knowing how to learn should not be done only in relation to itself, to whether it has learned anything, but also in terms of what its contribution has been to the objectives pursued by the organization. It is not enough to convince company managers that "training is not a cost but an investment"; Evidence must be generated that the training really works.
At least four families of evidence can be distinguished that, in reverse order of importance and ease of generation, correspond to the effective performance model exposed in the first chapter of this work, and which are the following (Furnham, 1997):
- The participant's reaction to the training received. Measuring trainee satisfaction through assessment formats is relatively easy and cheap to do. Care must be taken that the instructor does not choose and formulate the questions, but rather those responsible for training the company. Particular care must be taken with the inverse relationship between "having a good time in the course" and "learning": entertaining trainees is not a good method of learning. Participants could rate a course well because they were entertained and not because they learned a lot. The difference between what the trainees know and know how to do before the course and what they demonstrate mastery after. Although it is not difficult to show, there are two situations to beware of when interpreting it.It is easy to do the difficult entry pre-test and the easy exit test, pretending that much was learned. The other point to keep in mind is that learning is quickly forgotten if it is not put into practice and reinforced immediately. This experience was lived in some automotive plants in Mexico, where new personnel were trained for three months before entering the chain of operation. The problem that arose was precisely the forgetfulness of what was learned for not immediately putting into practice what was taught and for the absence of a subsequent reinforcement.The measurement of the change in the work behavior of the trainee, showing what the trainees do in a way different after training. Its measurement can take months and represent a special effort of those involved;The best way to measure is through third parties, for example supervisors. It can also be measured using available objective methods such as speed and quality of response to customer demands or orders, support and customer service, waste and consumption of raw materials, among many others. This works as long as the company records and tracks this type of information. The fundamental results of the business, such as improvements in sales, productivity and return on assets, the decrease in customer complaints, among others. The problem here is how to isolate the effect of training from so many other things, like technical and organizational innovations, that the company did in the period.It can also be measured using available objective methods such as speed and quality of response to customer demands or orders, support and customer service, waste and consumption of raw materials, among many others. This works as long as the company records and tracks this type of information. The fundamental results of the business, such as improvements in sales, productivity and return on assets, the decrease in customer complaints, among others. The problem here is how to isolate the effect of training from so many other things, like technical and organizational innovations, that the company did in the period.It can also be measured using available objective methods such as speed and quality of response to customer demands or orders, support and customer service, waste and consumption of raw materials, among many others. This works as long as the company records and tracks this type of information. The fundamental results of the business, such as improvements in sales, productivity and return on assets, the decrease in customer complaints, among others. The problem here is how to isolate the effect of training from so many other things, like technical and organizational innovations, that the company did in the period.This works as long as the company records and tracks this type of information. The fundamental results of the business, such as improvements in sales, productivity and return on assets, the decrease in customer complaints, among others. The problem here is how to isolate the effect of training from so many other things, like technical and organizational innovations, that the company did in the period.This works as long as the company records and tracks this type of information. The fundamental results of the business, such as improvements in sales, productivity and return on assets, the decrease in customer complaints, among others. The problem here is how to isolate the effect of training from so many other things, like technical and organizational innovations, that the company did in the period.
Given the set of problems identified that accompany the measurement of training effectiveness, the reaction of many companies has been not to do so. Without a doubt, this does not stimulate training to become a strategic line of the company, despite all that is recognized and attributed in the speeches of managers and union leaders. A blind confidence that training leads to benefits just because it is done, rather than helping can lead to failure. If it is accepted that feedback is essential for development, why does the organization not make an effort to generate some evidence of work behavior and, even better, indicators of process improvement and of a monetary nature. (Ibid.)
5. Labor competence and perspectives of the social actors of production
A technical training for labor competence that aims to promote organizational learning in companies will have to start from the expectations of the managers and of the workers' representatives, which is generally the union. These expectations vary from case to case, but some are of a common nature and obey “objective” reasons, which in turn are the product of the contradictions inherent in the modernization process.
5.1. Business expectation
The business expectation regarding training by labor competence within your organization is to have a reference for staff learning that is articulated with and based on the strategy of sustained improvement in productivity. It is often heard, by businessmen or managers, that although they are convinced that promoting human resources is essential today due to the characteristics of technology, organization and markets, at the same time they do not know where to start. and how to administer the change process in the management of your personnel. Should it start with salary incentives, with participation and involvement schemes, or with training? If you start with training, at what point will you have to modify the compensation system? The external instructor,Will you understand the problems of the company and analyze them accurately or will you only propose some general proposals that will not go to the heart of the matter?
| BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE | Response to problems within the organization:
> Training versus productivity results: Common language of how to understand staff development, how it occurs and how it is linked to business objectives. |
| WORK COMPETENCE IN GB, 1995 | |
These and many more questions and doubts generally have management; by not finding a clear and operational proposal for them, which can become a management tool for supervisors and managers in the area of operation, the desire and the vision remain a "we'll see". Labor competition has as an attraction for management that link between learning and individual performance, on the one hand, and its articulation with business objectives, on the other. The problem that is faced is that the implementation process is not fast and requires a decisive conviction not only from human resources management, but above all from the operation managers, who are the ones who put personnel management into practice.In Great Britain, the time required for the establishment of labor competition management is 12 months or more. (Competency, 1995.) In pilot experiences in Mexico, times are extending up to two years or more. This is because implementation represents a change in the organizational culture of the company, which, by definition, must reach each of its members, which represents a long process that cannot be carried out from one moment to the next., at least if you want to do it right. This means that from the perspective of technical training, one cannot think of "establishing a labor competency system" as if it were a "turnkey" mechanism, nor that one can offer closed packages or modules.) In pilot experiences in Mexico, times are extending up to two years or more. This is because implementation represents a change in the organizational culture of the company, which, by definition, must reach each of its members, which represents a long process that cannot be carried out from one moment to the next., at least if you want to do it right. This means that from the perspective of technical training, one cannot think of "establishing a labor competency system" as if it were a "turnkey" mechanism, nor that one can offer closed packages or modules.) In pilot experiences in Mexico, times are extending up to two years or more. This is because implementation represents a change in the organizational culture of the company, which, by definition, must reach each of its members, which represents a long process that cannot be carried out from one moment to the next., at least if you want to do it right. This means that from the perspective of technical training, one cannot think of "establishing a labor competency system" as if it were a "turnkey" mechanism, nor that one can offer closed packages or modules.it must reach each of its members, which represents a long process that cannot be carried out at any moment, at least if it is to be done well. This means that from the perspective of technical training, one cannot think of "establishing a labor competency system" as if it were a "turnkey" mechanism, nor that one can offer closed packages or modules.it must reach each of its members, which represents a long process that cannot be carried out at any moment, at least if it is to be done well. This means that from the perspective of technical training, one cannot think of "establishing a labor competency system" as if it were a "turnkey" mechanism, nor that one can offer closed packages or modules.
There are other business perspectives, which have to do with the systemic contradictions inherent to a market economy, and which not so easily will be recognized by the individual company, but which will rather have to be managed by business organizations and with those businessmen who have a vision further from the immediate needs and interests of your company.
The underlying problem is the rationality with which companies make decisions about how much to invest in training. It is very difficult for a company that has a quality and flexibility strategy to calculate exactly how much training is enough. What they do know is that companies that train just what they think is necessary will eventually come to the conclusion that they have not trained enough. In a context of demands for quality, customer service and adaptability, "awareness of the cost and benefit of the training effort is more part of the problem than of the solution." (Streeck, 1992.) For the company, individual rationality can turn out to be a sub-optimal result if there are no institutions that promote reasons in favor of inter-business cooperative behavior.
Some analysts have identified at least two types of market and hierarchy failures with respect to a production model based on a combination of quality with variety, failures that are directly related to the labor competition system. (Ibid.)
The first flaw is that the instinctive and savage force of the market is the elimination of the competitor. The main interest of the company can no longer be the elimination of the competitor or the incorporation of other companies in its corporate structure, but rather being part of a highly diversified and polycentric economy. This requires instances that protect trust and allow the improvement of technological capacity, allowing companies to flexibly move from competitiveness to cooperation. Instances that allow strategic alliances that are particularly important for small companies, which will not have the technological base of large companies but which are very important for flexible production.
Some tasks for entrepreneurs were identified in Canada:
Source: CLFDB (1994) |
Labor competencies are one of these instances of cooperation between companies to define the common elements that the market requires in terms of vocational training. In the long run, competency standards and their certification will reduce training costs because they will be taught broadly by the training system, thus reducing personnel selection costs, because competencies can be easily compared. (Levine, 1995.)
The second flaw is that market forces do not allow the generation of abundant capacities in terms of a sufficient supply of high and highly skilled labor. In a context of restructuring, rapid changes in technology, in markets, and high degrees of uncertainty, broad staff qualifications are critical.
However, the costs and benefits of training are very difficult to calculate. A culture of training is required beyond valuing immediate benefit, but this in turn requires minimal reference to the objectives of a given training effort. Competition rules can serve as a point of reference, since they refer to results and will constitute a policy of institutional affirmation of supply to the individual company so that it extends its training efforts beyond its immediate interests.
Considering these market failures, the problem lies at the start of the system: skills will help companies overcome market failures in training, but at the same time, skills are built with the active help of companies, which presupposes that they look beyond the "trap" of these failures. This requires the selection of cases of leaders who can serve as a demonstration factor but who demand an institutional affirmation of supply in aid of its consolidation as a system.
| Response to problems in the external labor market:
- Market failures that prevent:
- Create learning instances of how to train. |
The competition standard, in theory, is a systemic response to both organizational and content problems that companies face in terms of training their staff. However, another type of interpretation can also be made: the competition system must contemplate the problems pointed out by the entrepreneurs so that it is useful for them. From a business perspective, the labor competency system must meet most of the issues that are currently a problem for training management. That is, it has to incorporate the dimensions of technical and organizational change in companies, it has to offer bases for continuous learning, it has to provide parameters for the training of managers and middle managers, it has to be at low cost,it must be an incentive for workers to be trained through the awards granted, it must break with rigid productive practices that do not allow the knowledge learned in training to be applied, they must be constituted from networks of exchange between companies.
Undoubtedly, there are many demands together and overlapping, which makes the system of labor competition complex. Complexity cannot be reduced by less complex systems, but will require selection, on the one hand, and, on the other, connection of the selected subsystems to a higher level of processing. Its application in organizations will involve a learning process where the methods and systems will have to be adapted, so that this complexity is reproduced and settles in the organization's system as a reference author. This also occurs when the company wants to introduce an ISO 9000 quality assurance system and / or its variants.
5.2. Union perspective
From the union perspective, restructuring in companies has modified the condition of employability in the labor market, that is, the ability of a person to obtain quality work, given the interaction between individual and labor market characteristics. Rather, the occupation is in a process of continuous change, which carries the risk that certain segments of the workforce will be left behind or excluded from the process of change.
Training is a key instrument to counter exclusionary trends and improve the use of available labor, although it is not the only factor that determines it. Training cannot replace other economic policies that help to promote employment, nor can training by means of labor competence respond to the problem of employment. It is a very important condition for the generation of new jobs, but not enough.
It is in this last element that there is an important dilemma for the union strategy: the contingency that the training effort does not necessarily translate into more jobs. This demands a strategic vision of the union movement, with a clarity of the possibilities of success and at the same time the conviction that the fruits are long term, something that most unions are not used to within their organization..
Inside the company, the union's response to changes in work organization is varied and depends on the direction the changes are taking. However, in different studies it is observed that the perceptions and interpretations of the union movement in the face of changes in the organization of work and, therefore, in the face of the required competence, do not differ much. For example, it is argued that the increase in autonomy is limited to the internal position, encompassing the sequences of operations, but rarely goes beyond the position, which transforms it into controlled autonomy. (Parker and Slaughter, 1994; Garcia, et. Al, 1995.) Complexity does not usually go beyond solving routine problems, and work cycles on the main task are short, with work rates tending to increase. (Ibid.That is to say, the unionists question the little progress of the openness and complexity of the functions and tasks. They also argue that multi-skill in the plant does not necessarily lead to multipurpose training that can be taken to other companies.5. (Parker and Slaughter, 1994.)
| TRADE UNION PERSPECTIVE | Labor competence as a comprehensive response to the effects and obstacles of the innovation trajectory:
-> Little autonomy. -> Limited openness and complexity of functions and tasks. -> Increases in physical and mental workloads. |
From the union perspective, the identification and definition of labor competencies opens the possibility of rethinking the functions of the workers in the plant, taking into account the set of technical and organizational factors of the case. In this way, it can propose greater external autonomy and content related to solving non-routine problems that demand knowledge and skills beyond simple operations. You can also propose comprehensive alternatives to the increase in work rates that is a constant in most companies. (Ibid.)
| In a comparative study between six European countries on how union training policy has evolved to address the problems faced by low-skilled workers, it was concluded that:
a) In many cases, unions very efficiently represent the interests of vocational training and labor market policy at the sectoral and intersectoral levels. The greatest difficulty lies in how to implement agreements at the company level at higher levels. b) Although unions are to some extent responsible for improving access to vocational training for employed workers, this activity is severely reduced when it comes to surplus staff. Source: Rainbird (1994) |
From the union perspective, the definition of labor competence will require that not only the functions be reviewed, but also the technological and organizational context in which they take place, in order to generate more in-depth technical content on the tasks, avoiding negative impacts on working conditions in the variables indicated here. (Parker, Slaughter, 1994.) In this sense, the definition of labor competence becomes a space for negotiation and also a potential for conflict. The work environment in companies will determine the organization's ability to resolve this latent conflict, making this variable a strategic factor when introducing work skills into the organization.
Outside the company, in terms of the local, regional or sectoral labor market, the union is theoretically the first interested party to meet the training needs of displaced workers or those never incorporated into the formal labor market. Unlike employers, unions do not have the problem of market failure and can play an affirmative role in the creation and development of tripartite institutions that must guarantee a public good in terms of labor skills in favor of better market functioning. of work.
From the point of view of the company's external labor market, there are at least four issues of concern for the union movement, which has as its ultimate goal quality jobs.
The first is broad training-qualification of workers to guarantee sufficient transferability in order to increase the possibilities of employment in the labor market. The second is the development of a proposal for unskilled workers in general and particularly those displaced from workplaces, as well as for other vulnerable groups in the labor market such as the elderly and certain segments of young people. The third is a proposal for workers who will have to be requalified. The fourth is equal access for training members.
In the practice of union strategy, these four concerns are hardly separable from each other, since they receive pressure from their bases, which simultaneously go over these three dimensions. The definition of competition rules could be a useful tool in activities corresponding to these three dimensions of union concern. Viewed from this approach, skills are a means of achieving employability goals. This requires unions to actively participate in defining and updating competencies, so that they can serve as an active instrument in employment policies in the labor market.An active union presence in competition training policies means a lot of work and a willingness to experience and draw on the experience of the union's grassroots. (Parker, Jackson, 1994.)
| Training response for the labor market:
-> Recognition of know-how. -> Extensive training. -> Displaced or never incorporated. -> Requalification. -> Equal access to training. |
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There is also an implicit risk that a national competition rule becomes an object of negotiation regarding the degree of employment it contains, when the fundamental is the acceptance by the social agents of the analysis behind the construction. Of the same. That is, the construction, adaptation and implementation of the competition law is above all a process in the company, which raises social negotiation at this level, and this requires, among others, a decentralization of negotiation between the actors. He fears that in some countries, where bargaining by branch or national prevails, it may result in the need for a change in the union vision about their bargaining practice.
This demands a new union culture that not only incorporates the importance of education and training in the daily practices of unions, but also establishes the principles under which proposals are made for different groups in the labor market: skilled workers, unskilled workers, workers with an "obsolete" rating. This is a necessity in Latin America, where union participation in training management is still very limited, and even more so in terms of defining and participating in training policies for low-skilled workers and / or displaced persons.
Notwithstanding the generic affirmation above, it is also necessary to consider that between the countries there are different legal and institutional frameworks that give rise to considerable variations in terms of the margin of maneuver available to unions to officially represent the interests of their members in the areas of vocational training and labor market policies. Furthermore, trade union movements do not have the same capacity to represent the interests of employed workers and those who are marginalized in the labor market due to unemployment. (Rainbird, 1994.)
5 These authors argue that the traditional qualification based on trades were transferable at the time and that multi-skill will not automatically have this characteristic.
Conclusions
In this work, proposals of different levels of generality and abstraction have been presented for a professional training based on labor competence, without having attempted to cover all relevant aspects. The approach is made from the dynamics of change in the company, a mandatory point of reference for a concept such as labor competition that is born and recreated from productive practice.
It is about explaining that the change from the traditional curriculum to the one based on demonstrable performance, although it is a first step, does not cover the expectations of what should be understood by training based on labor competence. This will have to take into account several other important elements to be able to be awarded the term «training based on labor competence».
In the first place, training by labor competence means incorporating in the design of the curriculum not only a dimension of application in the practice of knowledge and skills, but that this practice corresponds to the "strategic" needs of local companies, from its market environment and through its technological, organizational and cultural base of organizations.
For this, the professional training establishments must start from an updated diagnosis of the competitive and productivity profile of the companies in the region they serve, and incorporate the results of said diagnosis as a generic competence in the curriculum: that the student be able to identify and interpret the competitiveness and productivity strategy of the company in which you are going to work. This enables you to guide the development of your competence according to the overall objectives of the organization, taking into account its technological, organizational and cultural environment.
Second, a decentralized decision structure is required on aspects of curriculum design and equipment. The problem behind decentralization is the formation of the cadres of the vocational training system at the local level, a process that takes time and is not always understood as important within the restructuring processes of the educational system. In addition, the rigidities of a public administration structure of the State are frequently encountered, which has not been able to adapt to the needs of a decentralized structure of vocational training, causing the excessive consumption of time in procedures and internal documents by the institutional staff, instead of focusing on managing an interactive, results-oriented process,but that is capable of adjusting and adapting over time.
Third, the identification of competition standards is incorporated as a task in vocational training activities. This previously requires that the company be helped to create a learning environment, becoming aware of the different moments that affect learning and the articulation that it must keep with the path of innovation, as well as with other elements of resource management. human, especially autonomy at work, participation and remuneration.
Fourth, vocational training should be anchored in internal instructors, preferably supervisors, who should be trained to become instructors who train based on the principles of competencies.
Fifth, you should have as a reference the job skills that are necessary to get a job in a modern market and to be able to train later. On the other hand, concrete practice in a job is essential to access certain learning: relationships and rules within the productive organization, usual technologies, performance of specific tasks. The notion of specific aspects or elements should not be approached in isolation, but should be placed within a framework of learning how to learn.
Sixth, it will be necessary to look for how to evolve towards a less academic approach and more oriented to the analysis of the individual and collective needs of the workers. This change is inscribed in the modification of pedagogical styles, which must go from a logic that "to educate you have to teach" to an approach "to form, you must develop the capacities of how to learn". The proposal of a teaching by problems can be combined very well with the training by alternation, which proposes the coming and going between classroom and practice, as well as with the possibility of individualized teaching with modular advances, allowing the individual to better match their personal attributes and abilities with training needs.
Seventh, it requires a knowledge-learning administration that provides evidence as to what their contribution of training has been to the objectives pursued by the organization.
Eighth, actively incorporate business organizations and unions in the definition and updating of competencies, so that they can serve as an active instrument in employment policies in the labor market.
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