Dealing with the Complexities of Competency Assessment
Competency assessment is the mechanism being used by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or TESDA to determine whether a certain worker meets the minimum industry standard for a particular job (or more precisely, qualification) as indicated in the training regulations. At first glance, it appears that competency assessment is nothing but the final hurdle every graduate of TVET or any practitioner of a blue-collar worker should pass in order to be regarded as a legitimate practitioner of a particular qualification. (After passing it, a TVET graduate or skilled worker can apply for a national certificate or certificate of competency depending on the the competencies he passed during the assessment. These certificates then can be used to vouch for the skills of the person.)
Competency assessment, however, has inherent complexities that TVET graduates and blue-collar workers have to deal with.
First, most companies in the Philippines at present do not really require their workers to get national certificates; it is the government that does. Many companies have their own standards and it is these standards that they actually use in evaluating job applicants and the performance of their workers. However, they may require some of their workers to have national certificates because these certifications are required by agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in relation to the application or renewal of business licenses. Thus, workers need to pass at least two skills tests: the competency assessment administered by TESDA and the skills evaluation of their company administered by the human resource office. While it appears there is a duplication (and thus, an inefficiency) here, there is actually none or only very little: the TESDA assessment is often regarded as the basic skills test while the company assessment is regarded as a validation and an assessment of skills that are specific to the company.
Second, competency assessments are not fool proof. Test questions can be outdated, they could be leaked or bought and competency assessors might turn out to be inept. These things are not supposed to happen and TESDA seems to be doing all it can to prevent these from happening but there are reports that, like any exam where something very valuable is at stake, these things are actually happening. To be sure, irregularities in the conduct of competency assessment are rare but as noted, every person submitting himself for assessment has to keep in mind that these things can and do happen.
Third, possessing a national certificate is not always equal to higher salary. Although one of the intents of competency assessment is to enable competency assessment passers to get higher salaries, this is not always what happens. As of now, there is no law requiring employers to give higher salaries to workers who passed competency assessment (and were issued national certificates or certificates of competency). Thus, certified workers often enjoy salaries that are just around equal to (if not actually less than) those earned by other workers in their company. For now, the real and effective determinants of salary are the minimum wage set by the DOLE, relevant experience, educational attainment, results of the interview; and, for workers already employed, work performance.
Minimizing these complexities require that the issues not be addressed within one or two government agencies only. Based on experiences of other countries with better worker certification systems, it is necessary that all involved government agencies continue to work together to create consistent and synchronized policies that are embeded under one system that is easy to monitor and adjust as the need arises.
Books of interest from Amazon.com:
Competency assessment methods: History and state of the art
A Practical Guide to Assessment Centres and Selection Methods: Measuring Competency for Recruitment and Development
Ahp Competencies: A Method for Effective Assessment
A Teacher's Guide to Performance-Based Learning and Assessment
Competency assessment, however, has inherent complexities that TVET graduates and blue-collar workers have to deal with.
First, most companies in the Philippines at present do not really require their workers to get national certificates; it is the government that does. Many companies have their own standards and it is these standards that they actually use in evaluating job applicants and the performance of their workers. However, they may require some of their workers to have national certificates because these certifications are required by agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in relation to the application or renewal of business licenses. Thus, workers need to pass at least two skills tests: the competency assessment administered by TESDA and the skills evaluation of their company administered by the human resource office. While it appears there is a duplication (and thus, an inefficiency) here, there is actually none or only very little: the TESDA assessment is often regarded as the basic skills test while the company assessment is regarded as a validation and an assessment of skills that are specific to the company.
Second, competency assessments are not fool proof. Test questions can be outdated, they could be leaked or bought and competency assessors might turn out to be inept. These things are not supposed to happen and TESDA seems to be doing all it can to prevent these from happening but there are reports that, like any exam where something very valuable is at stake, these things are actually happening. To be sure, irregularities in the conduct of competency assessment are rare but as noted, every person submitting himself for assessment has to keep in mind that these things can and do happen.
Third, possessing a national certificate is not always equal to higher salary. Although one of the intents of competency assessment is to enable competency assessment passers to get higher salaries, this is not always what happens. As of now, there is no law requiring employers to give higher salaries to workers who passed competency assessment (and were issued national certificates or certificates of competency). Thus, certified workers often enjoy salaries that are just around equal to (if not actually less than) those earned by other workers in their company. For now, the real and effective determinants of salary are the minimum wage set by the DOLE, relevant experience, educational attainment, results of the interview; and, for workers already employed, work performance.
Minimizing these complexities require that the issues not be addressed within one or two government agencies only. Based on experiences of other countries with better worker certification systems, it is necessary that all involved government agencies continue to work together to create consistent and synchronized policies that are embeded under one system that is easy to monitor and adjust as the need arises.
Books of interest from Amazon.com:
Competency assessment methods: History and state of the art
A Practical Guide to Assessment Centres and Selection Methods: Measuring Competency for Recruitment and Development
Ahp Competencies: A Method for Effective Assessment
A Teacher's Guide to Performance-Based Learning and Assessment
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