OVERVIEW
UKAS accredits personnel certification bodies to ISO/IEC Standard 17024. This accreditation provides a global benchmark for personnel certification schemes to operate in a consistent, comparable and reliable manner worldwide. Accreditation supports the increasing technological and global specialization of skills and personnel.
UKAS Accreditation for Personnel Certification Bodies
- Demonstrates compliance with ISO/IEC 17024.
- UKAS accreditation is accepted by regulators and the marketplace.
- Provides verification that personnel certification schemes meet industry and international standards.
- Helps organizations that certify individuals in a variety of occupations and professions to protect the integrity and ensure the validity of individual certification programs.
- Promotes consumer and public confidence in the capabilities and competence of the people who provide specialized services.
- Recognized by U.S. Department of Defense
- Case study of how the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing earned IAS accreditation to ISO/IEC Standard 17024.
UKAS Accreditation Cooperation (APAC)
Personnel Certification Bodies accredited by UKAS benefit from IAS’s recognition as Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) signatory with the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC). Signatories are recognized worldwide based on the equivalency of their accreditation programs, therefore reducing costs and adding value to business and consumers.
UKAS - ICE Partnership for Organizations Assessing Professional Competence
Through a partnership, the International Accreditation Service (UKAS) and the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) are offering dual accreditation to NCCA criteria and ISO/IEC 17024 requirements, for organizations that assess professional competence.
The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) is the accreditation arm of ICE. The NCCA’s Standards for the Accreditation of Certification Programs, which were originally created in the mid-1970s, were the first standards developed by the credentialing industry for professional certification programs. The NCCA Standards were most recently updated in 2014 and more than 300 certification programs are currently NCCA-accredited.
ISO/IEC 17024 sets the requirements and the framework, at a global level, for the operation of Personnel Certification Bodies. UKAS is a signatory to the Multilateral Recognition Arrangement of the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation which allows for trans portability of credentials issued under the joint accreditation program.
Organizations will realize a cost savings and streamlining of the accreditation process with dual accreditation from UKAS and ICE. Efficiencies can be realized through the online system, the large overlap in the requirements for both standards, and the synchronization of deadlines and term dates.