ANSI Board member Cynthia Woodley Discusses Value of Personnel Certification in ISO Focus+
The September 2011 issue of ISO Focus+ features an article by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Board Member Cynthia Woodley on the value of personnel certification in building a qualified and skilled workforce.
In her article, "Creating a quality workforce: Ensuring competency and ability in a global era," Dr. Woodley discusses the challenges of hiring in a global marketplace, where employers face unfamiliarity with the education or training in other countries, job title and scope differences in previous work experiences, and the difficulty in determining potential employees' knowledge, skills, and attributes (KSAs).
"An increasingly dependable means of verifying knowledge, skills, and attributes is the use of personnel certification programs," Dr. Woodley writes. "Personnel certification facilitates labor mobility and market efficiency. It requires individuals to continue to upgrade their training and to focus on outcomes in a cost-efficient manner, regardless of how the skill is obtained. Personnel certification supports the process of professionalization as a normative value system and facilitates occupational change. In this way, it highlights and promotes trust and global confidence."
Dr. Woodley also discusses the role of ISO/IEC 17024:2003, Conformity assessment - General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons, in promoting a globally accepted benchmark for organizations operating the certification of persons.
Read the full article on page 15 of ISO Focus+.
USGBC Makes Commitment at Clinton Global Initiative to Build Children's Center in Haiti
The U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Project Haiti announced at the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting that it will build a brand new orphanage and children's center in Haiti. Project Haiti is an Orphanage and Children's Center to provide for the immediate health and emotional needs of orphaned children in Haiti and offer a pathway to adoption.
"Project Haiti is our commitment to the children of Haiti to not only provide a safe shelter, but to provide a model of sustainable construction that can be replicated throughout the country," said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. "It comes out of our ongoing resiliency agenda to help devastated communities rebuild in ways that provide safer, more durable buildings that also save resources made more precious by the aftereffects of natural disasters."
Through the design and construction of this orphanage, which will be LEED certified, USGBC will provide a global, replicable model of high performance green building practices.
An ANSI member and accredited standards developer, USGBC is committed to a sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. Click here to learn more.
SCTE Announces IP Challenge Competition
The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE), an ANSI member and accredited standards developer, has opened registrations for the SCTE IP Challenge - an initiative designed to increase the visibility and understanding of Internet Protocol (IP) technologies.
Sponsored by Cisco Systems, the IP Challenge will combine fundamental IP knowledge and a "Jeopardy"-style game format to highlight the benefits of IP and IPv6 as critical to the future of service delivery for cable system operators. The two-part event will begin with online regional qualifying rounds, and will culminate in a live, nine-player "final" on November 17 at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo.
Registration and other information for the IP Challenge are available at www.scte.org/ip. The event is open to all SCTE members; registration is free.
IEC - IEEE Challenge Seeks Academic Papers on Impact of Electrotechnology
ANSI member and accredited standards developer IEEE and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) have launched the 2012 challenge - a global competition centered on the theme: How does electrotechnology impact economic, social and environmental development?
Open to anyone affiliated to an academic institution, interested parties are invited to submit a paper of up to 4,000 words on why and how electrotechnology impacts economic, social, and environmental development.
The premise is that broad access to safe and efficient electrotechnology is dependent on universally accepted technical specifications and standards that, in turn, enable interoperability and international trade. Subjects that might be considered include energy efficiency and climate change mitigation, energy security and public health, Smart Grid, and corporate efficiency and competitiveness.
Awards will be presented in October 2012 in Oslo, Norway, during the IEC General Meeting. Click here to learn more.
NIST Seeks Comments to Help Build Public Safety Communications Network
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking public input through October 12 on various possible features of a new nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network. Input received will be used by NIST to help determine research and development priorities in anticipation of the President's Wireless Innovation (WIN) Fund to help drive innovation of next-generation network technologies.
This request for information coincides with the ongoing development of a demonstration testbed of the network by the joint NIST-National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) program. The testbed will provide a common site for manufacturers, carriers, and public safety agencies to evaluate advanced broadband communications equipment and software tailored specifically to the needs of emergency first responders.
Comments are requested by 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on October 12 to Dereck Orr at [email protected]. Click here to learn more.