This study originated from a professional interest of the researcher in
competency standards and their implementation in the professions. The
study was conducted with the aim of informing policy development and
implementation in Namibia in this area by drawing lessons from the
Australian experience. It set out to identify the factors that influenced
the implementation of this policy in Australia, the importance of these
factors and the strategies employed by implementors to enhance
successful implementation. The study is grounded in policy
implementation theory.
Twenty professions have been involved in developing and implementing
competency standards in Australia under the guidance and with the
support of a national government organisation called the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR). The main objectives of the
Australian government in implementing this policy were the
improvement of migrant skills recognition and the achievement of
recognition for professional qualifications across state and territory
borders.
Time and budgetary constraints would not allow the involvement of all
the professional groups in this study, so four groups were selected based
on their size and progress made in developing and implementing the
standards. The groups ranged from a very large professional group
(more than 250 000 members) to a very small professional group
(approximately 3 500 members). Eleven respondents from NOOSR and
the professional groups participated in the study. Data was gathered by
structured interview, a rating schedule and document analysis.
The study found that there were seventeen factors that influenced this
process as perceived by the respondents. These factors were classified
into five categories: technical, political, economic, administrative and
political, and then placed on a matrix with the levels at which they
exerted their greatest pressure: external, internal to the professional
body, and on the steering group. This classification of factors gave
indications of the types of strategies and the level of intervention which
may address implementation problems best. The study compiled a list of
the factors in order of importance as rated by the respondents. This
ranking showed that leadership was the most important factor, followed
by experience and expertise of the steering group and the need for and
appropriateness of the standards for the professions. The study also
found that the Australian government employed inducement, capacity
building and facilitation strategies to enhance the successful
vii
implementation of the standards, while the professional bodies
employed mainly staff development and training as strategies.
The study concluded that Namibian policy makers and implementors
can draw the following lessons from the Australian experience:
1. there is a need for a balance between pressure and support from
government;
2. there is a role for a national implementation plan;
3. the main attraction of national competency standards is still the
many uses it can be put to and the many purposes it serves for
different organisations;
4. assessment strategies need to be considered from the beginning;
5. the methodology of using a representative steering group to lead
standards development is one of the best features of the Australian
approach;
6. Over time, the original objectives of the policy became low priority
for NOOSR and the government;
7. the classification matrix can be used as a planning tool; and
8. the ranking of the factors indicates the importance of organisational,
technical and economic factors.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219015 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Hjafta, Corneels, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Corneels Hjafta |
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