The National Qualifications Framework: a joint tool for supporting all sectors of the country
Bogotá, July 27, 2017. MinEducación. The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Catalog is an opportunity for all sectors of the country seeking to be efficient, productive, and to have the best personnel to carry out their operations.
This was one of the conclusions drawn from the discussion titled “The Contribution of the NQF in Colombia to Strategic Sectors as a Contribution to Economic Development and Social Inclusion,” held this Thursday as part of the Catalog launch.
This discussion featured representatives from the Ministries of Mines and Energy, ICT, and Defense, as well as the UNDP. Mariana Martínez Cuellar, Deputy Minister of National Defense, highlighted that the NQF, for example, is an opportunity to further professionalize the Public Force, thus it should be integrated with the training provided in various military and police schools.
Each year, the Deputy Minister noted, 110,000 young people serve in the military, and many of them could leave the Armed Forces and the National Police with the knowledge and skills to contribute immediately to the Security Sector.
In the ICT Sector, the Framework offers Colombia the chance to train professionals with the highest quality standards to meet the existing deficit in this area, not just in Colombia but worldwide, mentioned Lina Taborda, Director of Policies and Development at the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications (MinTIC).
Carlos Andrés Cante Puentes, Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, stated that for this Sector, the NQF will enhance productivity and acknowledge the knowledge generated not only in large mining industries but also in artisanal and subsistence mining.
He added that in the Electric Subsector, training and capacity-building efforts must be focused, as an increase in employability is anticipated due to the current deficit of professionals in Renewable Energies and the low enrollment of high school graduates in careers like Electrical Engineering.
Panel participants agreed on the importance of the country having an NQF and a catalog today, a task that more than 140 countries are currently undertaking.
As a result of all this work, Colombia now has a total of 114 qualifications in nine sectors, which will now be part of the National Qualifications Catalog.
News extracted from: https://www.mineducacion.gov.co/portal/salaprensa/Noticias/362836:El-Marco-Nacional-de-Cualificaciones-una-herramienta-conjunta-para-el-apoyo-a-todos-los-sectores-del-pais
