Abstract :
The Occupational Standards Council for Engineering, OSCEng, was established in 1996 primarily to fulfil the role of custodian of generic occupational standards for engineering and manufacturing. This included responsibility for ensuring that when the generic standards were used for the development of National Occupational Standards and related vocational qualifications this was done in accordance with agreed policies and procedures; for ensuring that the generic standards remained current, robust and fit-for-purpose; and for identifying gaps or redundancies in the standards and taking appropriate action. The present paper gives details of the history of OSCEng and its key activities and shows how the generic standards for engineering have been used, through a process of contextualisation, to meet sector-specific needs. Examples of the use of OSCEng Units of Competence are presented to illustrate the different approaches used.
