My motive is simple- to learn about the evolution of
national qualifications systems across the world.
I am not an authority, nor an educational
researcher. I am a simply a worker in the field who is interested in what
others are doing. .
It started innocently enough. I was researching the
United Kingdom National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) and the Australian
Qualifications Framework (AQF) for an equivalent standard for a Canadian
National Occupational Standard (NOS) for the Petroleum Human Resources Council
of Canada in the oil and gas industry….. And yes I will keep a running log of
the acronyms.
I was amazed. What started out in Canada led me through an internet journey through the United Kingdom and Australia to South Africa, Jamaica, Denmark, Scotland, Lithuania, the Mediterranean and the European Common Market.
Standards, assessment criteria, qualifications,
levels, frameworks, papers, books … the trail was endless. I realized I did not
even know the basics let alone the ability to see through the maze to the truth
of the evolution of these systems.
So I started. And I decided to keep a live record.
And that is what The National Qualifications Systems forum is all about.
It is my online record that you are welcome to.
I am not without experience and opinions. I worked for the Red Seal Program-Canadian Council of Directors of
Apprenticeship in the establishment of six National Apprenticeship Standards.
I have also worked with Canadian Sector Councils and
National industry groups in the area of standards development, certification,
accreditation and more recently on equivalency and foreign credential
recognition.
I have a bias –in fact –two of them. My passion in
life is results through integrity. This is my attempt to persuade the world that
ethics and integrity are keys to performance and sustainability. I learned this
in one of the world’s most globally competitive industries.
I define integrity as wholeness, unfolding and
objectivity. In simple terms –do the right thing, do the next right thing and
do things right.
This brings me to my second bias – I am a systems guy. I look at the holistic
(completeness), the dynamic (evolutionary ) and the directional (sustainability) aspects of systems. I usually work from 4 frames of
reference – relationships, processes, systems, and structures.
You can read more about that on Results Through Integrity if you are interested
A national
qualifications framework is a system. It is my belief that the degree of ethics and integrity in the system correlates with system
results and outcomes. It only makes sense to me -do the right thing, do the next right thing and do things right -and results will follow.
This is my journey through the maze to the ethics and integrity of national qualification systems. Don’t expect
much at first. I have to get caught up with all that is happening –it is the
old adage –seek first to understand , then be understood.
If on the way some of the information is helpful, I
am pleased.
If on the way, I make a mistake, please correct
me….It is an electronic world that can be corrected through the use of a delete button and new information.
I will add my comments where I deem useful and
connections where possible
Douglas Ross is an advocate for integrity as a
strategy for performance. He is a consultant with Principle Dynamics Consulting
Inc of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada and Augusta, Georgia,USA.
©
2009 All Rights Reserved, Douglas Ross, Principle Dynamics Consulting
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