Professional standards - characteristics of qualifications of managers, specialists and employees

Professional standards are a topic that has recently attracted increasing interest from employers. This can be explained by the fact that in the current economic conditions there is an ongoing tendency to integrate all processes relating to the labor market.

With the free movement of services and goods, capital and labor, as well as high competition among producers, there is a need for training highly qualified employees. At the same time, it is important that the employee has not only very broad competence. It also requires the ability to make the necessary decisions independently. This issue acquired special relevance with the arrival of Western companies on our market. And today the requirements for the qualification of employees are increasingly approaching those in overseas business. This is due to the wide introduction of computer technology, with changes in technological processes, as well as with the informatization of management functions.

In order to understand what should be the level of knowledge and skills of the employee, and develop federal professional standards.

Definition of concept

What does the term "professional standards" mean? These are normative documents that contain a detailed description (description) of the measurable requirements imposed on the quality and results of the functions of the employee.

The need to develop and further introduce the standards of professions is stated in Presidential Decree No. 597 of 07/05/2012 "On measures to implement state social policy". The newly adopted normative documents in comparison with the ETC and CEN are a new form of assessing the qualifications of employees. In addition, previously approved reference books are gradually becoming obsolete. They do not have many new professions or the description that they have is not in accordance with the existing reality.

Scope of application

Professional standards are necessary for:

• The formation of national qualification levels;
• The development of a mechanism for assessing the graduates of the vocational education system;
• Ensuring high quality of the work performed on the basis of certain requirements for the functions performed by the employee;
• Formation of standards for training modular programs in the system of training qualified personnel.

Normative documents on the assessment of the qualification of the employee allow organizations to properly develop a personnel policy, while organizing the certification and training of their employees. In addition, professional standards are used in the pricing of work and the definition of wage systems. These normative documents are necessary for educational institutions. They use one or another state professional standard when drawing up an appropriate training program.

Development of new documents

The procedure for passing professional standards from their creation to implementation in practice has been established by the Government of the Russian Federation. Approves these documents of the Ministry of Labor. Professional standards are then normative legal acts. Information on their approval is entered in a special register established by the Ministry of Labor.

To date, there are already professional standards in education, health, culture and art. They are in the sports field, in administrative and management and office activities. On December 12, 2014, under No. 1061-n, another Order of the Ministry of Labor was signed. The professional standard for accounting workers was fixed by this document. There are other Orders of this department concerning labor personnel in the sphere of finance and economy.

PS developers track:

• Changes regarding employee requirements, focusing on certain qualities, such as orientation to self-improvement and on continuing education, innovation and adaptability;
• World achievements in the field of PS development;
• The newest criteria in the formulation of the requirements of the PS.

Method of development

How is the standard of professional activity born? The basis for its development is the method of functional analysis. She replaced the previously described job description of a specialist.

The method used in the previous years is now considered obsolete, as it is unable to experience the dynamics of the current development of the social sphere, the economy, and the accelerated pace of current production.

Functional analysis is used practically in all states with a high level of economic development, since it takes into account not only the current requirements of the most advanced companies, but also international perspectives, needs and trends.

When using this technique, the description of the professional activity of the employee is superimposed on the list of requirements imposed on him.

PS structure

All professional standards of workers consist of certain sections, each of which correlates with their work function and skill level. In the structure of the PS there are also requirements that are imposed on a particular official unit.

The sections of professional standards clearly describe such parameters as:

• The name of the duties of the PS unit;
• Actions necessary to perform job descriptions;
• Characteristic of the qualification level.

The requirements of professional standards are applied to the necessary level of knowledge of the employee. They also touch upon its degree of responsibility and independence.

All the requirements of the PS for knowledge and skills of labor cadres cover three groups of competence. Among them:

• Professional, which are directly related to the duties performed ;
• Overprofessional, relevant to the protection of the environment and labor, the improvement of the workplace and working environment, as well as to communication in the team;
• Key competencies that the employee must have in relation to all types of activities performed by him, presupposing the ability to obtain new knowledge and application in a changing situation already received.

This structure allows the use of professional standards in education in the preparation of training programs. Thanks to this, specialists who graduate from the institutions of this system master the functions necessary for further activity.

In the professional standard approved at the legislative level, you can find:

• Description of labor functions;
• Applied job titles;
• Requirements for education;
• Criteria for working experience.

How are the PS developed?

The procedure according to which professional standards of employees are created, contains the identification of those functional duties that are necessary for a specific field of activity. It does not aim to describe the person performing them. In this connection, the starting point for the formation of a professional standard is the analysis of the relevant work activity. To compile it, a large number of respondents are interviewed, who are employees of the industry in question. At the same time, labor functions are identified, and qualitative requirements for their implementation are determined. Those data that are obtained during the survey, and allow you to identify the most significant criteria for the employee, as well as the necessary level of his qualifications.

Stages of PS development

Professional standards, approved by the Ministry of Labor, in the process of its creation have passed a number of certain stages. On the first of them, an Expert Group was created, consisting of representatives of a certain industry. Then the main list of functions performed by the employee was formed, and a list of skills, knowledge and key competencies required for further interviews was developed. After that, the questioning of leading specialists and heads of enterprises of the relevant industry was conducted and the data received were processed. The preparation of professional standards also included:

• Organizing and conducting a survey at enterprises;
• Generalization of the received data;
• Drafting the draft of the PS and its discussion in the professional community;
• Finalization of the document, its approval and submission to the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation.

Only after that came out the Order "On the Approval of the Professional Standard" in this or that field of activity.

Practical application of the PS

Who needs professional standards and why? These normative documents are used:

• Employer when formulating requirements for employees;
• System of professional education in the development of educational programs and standards that fully meet the current requirements on the labor market;
• Employees to assess the compliance of their competencies with the requirements of modern production.

The development of the PS will make it possible to compile a new classifier of professions existing in a specific field of economic activity. This is relevant in the modern world, where there is a constant clarification of the content of the duties performed by the employee.

Why do we need a professional standard? A specialist of a particular field of activity on the basis of this normative document can monitor and improve the necessary level of quality of the work performed by him.

Approved by the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation, the PS is a professional minimum. All managers, specialists and employees must comply with it. In addition, the PS can be taken as a basis for creating job responsibilities of the enterprise and corporate standards. In this case, it is possible to clarify or expand the functions of certain employees, taking into account the nuances in the organization of management and labor.

Also, the requirements imposed by the PS are applied when creating educational programs and standards. This allows the educational institutions to release a specialist who is competitive in the labor market. It is believed that the development of uniform requirements for professional activities in one or another industry will create a system of continuous professional training and evaluate all its forms and types.

Start of the PS

On July 1, 2016, amendments to the TC came into effect, which were provided for by Federal Law No. 122-FZ of 02.05.2015. The innovations of the legislation affected professional standards of employees. Since 01.07.2016 these normative documents have become mandatory for application by municipal and state organizations, as well as those enterprises in which the controlling interest belongs to the Russian Federation, its entity or municipal entity. To date, we have already more than 800 approved PS. If an organization from the list above does not apply these normative acts, then its manager may be subject to administrative sanctions under art. 5.27 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation.

The government plans to completely replace the existing Unified Tariff and Qualification Handbook of Work and Occupations of Workers, as well as the Unified Qualification Reference Book for positions of managers, specialists and employees. They will be replaced by professional standards approved by legislative acts. However, it should be borne in mind that the use of only one professional standards - the prospect of a sufficiently long time period.

How can I get acquainted with the content of the approved PS? To do this, just go to the website of the Ministry of Labor and open the Register of Professional Standards, which is maintained on this resource. In addition, with already approved PS can be found on the pages of various reference systems of legal information.

Obligation to apply the PS

In the article 195-3 of the LC RF at the legislative level, a change was introduced. It provides for the application of the standards of professions only in those situations where the requirements for qualification of the employee are contained in certain normative legal acts. Otherwise, the description of the employee's knowledge and skills available in the PS is of a recommendatory nature and is used by the manager only as a basis for drawing up job descriptions for his work team.

Legislation does not give recommendations on how the employer should introduce professional standards at his enterprise. That is why the procedure for applying the PS is decided by the administration or an individual entrepreneur independently. For example, to begin with, a working group can be established whose members will conduct a check on the compliance of employees with approved PS. Based on the results obtained, a decision of the head will be taken.

Enterprises may have cases when the level of education of an employee does not meet the requirements of the adopted PS. What to do with this? To dismiss an employee on this basis, the employer has no right, since this does not comply with the provisions of the Labor Code. The administration of the enterprise can only conduct certification of its personnel. If the commission establishes a discrepancy between the employee of the position held, then only the employer will have grounds for his dismissal. The administration of the enterprise also has the right to offer the employee a transfer to another position corresponding to his qualification.

Update of the PS

Additions and changes to the professional standards approved by the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation will be carried out taking into account the proposals put forward by the National Council under the President of the Russian Federation for professional qualification. At the same time, priority directions of economic development will be taken into account. The need to update the PS will be determined and according to the information contained in the Directory of Prospective and New Professions, in demand on the labor market.

Projects of newly created standards can be submitted for consideration by the Ministry of Labor of Russia by various organizations. At the same time, changes in the PS will be made in the same manner as in any other normative acts. This will require the availability of reasonable proposals or corresponding changes in the laws of the Russian Federation.

Conclusion

To date, professional standards are increasingly used in the activities of organizations. It is expected that in the near future without PS employers will not be able to build their personnel policy. Consequently, the newly created legislative acts need to be gradually studied in order to use them competently in drawing up employment contracts, job descriptions and local regulatory documents.