When applying for a job, it is important to familiarize yourself not only with the requirements of the employer, but also with the existing state qualification standards. In most cases, they are advisory in nature, and the head of the company is not obliged to apply them. But the law stipulates that there are a number of professional areas in which employees must strictly comply with the developed standards in terms of education, qualifications, knowledge, skills and work experience.
The professional standard means the level of qualification of an employee established by the legislator for each individual position and profession. Initially, this indicator was used as a recommended methodological guide for the employer and the personnel department. On June 1, 2016, some amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, affecting the subject of professional standards, came into force. For some positions and professions, compliance with this standard has become a prerequisite.
What is a professional standard?
Before talking about what a professional standard includes and to whom specifically it applies, you should understand what it is all about. A professional standard is a statutory level of employee qualifications for a specific field of activity. Now, for each of the spheres of work, there is its own professional standard, which can be applied by the employer at will. There are industries where it must be applied. In this case, the qualification of an employee is understood as a certain set of professional knowledge. It's about education, skills and work experience.
Occupational standards were developed by the Ministry of Labor for each separate area of work. Today, they replace the staff of the HR department with such methodological documents as the Unified Qualification Reference Book of Positions and the Unified Tariff and Qualification Reference Guide. The new standards detail the job functions of the employee, which greatly simplifies the life of the employer and personnel officers. This point also protects workers from situations when the employer tries to assign more responsibilities to an employee of a certain position for a lower salary.
The year 2016 was significant not only for the introduction of professional standards, but also for the fact that the Ministry of Labor prepared official clarifications to them, and also established the procedure for their application.
For what purposes were the professional standards introduced?
In an information letter dated April 4, 2016, no. 14-0 / 10 / 13-2253, the Ministry of Labor explained in detail for what specific purposes occupational standards were put in place. According to the developers of this normative document, a qualification standard is necessary for the exchange and maintenance of information about existing professions and the volume of current requirements for a particular position. The existence of strict standards will save many employers from unnecessary costs if, when hiring a new employee, they will clearly know what requirements to make based on the vacant position. Thus, only those people who have the necessary education and experience will be able to apply for a vacant position. The specialists of the Ministry of Labor believe that in this way it is possible to significantly improve the quality and efficiency of work, while maintaining competition at a high level.
Professional standards are used by a personnel specialist in charge of personnel selection. They are beneficial for the employer for the following reasons:
- Simplify the area of employee management.
- They help to develop a high-quality personnel policy.
- Establish a remuneration system for certain positions.
- They contain a job list for the functions of each employee.
- Do not require additional development of job descriptions (everything is already spelled out in the standard)
- Set the salary for government employees.
Specialists of the Ministry of Labor predict that in the future the existence and essence of such standards will be taken into account even during vocational training (at institutes, universities and colleges) for the release of competent specialists.
For whom have professional standards become mandatory?
Initially, the topic of professional standards and their application was raised back in 2012. Then it was assumed that they would be of a recommendatory nature, and each employer would be able to decide for himself whether they should be applied to their employees or not. But due to heated debates in this area, the Government decided to approve a list of professional areas for which the application of such standards will become mandatory. The official portal of the Ministry of Labor has a register of professions, which contains more than 800 documents on job titles and professional requirements for them. Compliance with professional standards has become mandatory for representatives of the following specialties:
- Accountants and chief accountants.
- Teachers.
- HR or other HR specialists.
- Lawyers.
- Economists.
- Doctors.
This list also includes employees of municipal and state institutions.
On a professional scale, compliance with standards is mandatory for the following areas:
- Healthcare.
- Education.
- Social service.
- Financial activities.
- Legal direction.
- Building.
This list should include agriculture, nuclear, transportation, chemical and food industries, as well as electronics and Internet technologies.
Occupational standards must be applied by the employer in those labor sectors that provide for the availability of a compulsory specialized qualification - specialized education under the Labor Code. In this case, the developed standards simply supplement the list of mandatory requirements that will be imposed on the most important positions.
Let's take a look at the professional standards for several separate positions.
Requirements for the professional standard for the chief accountant
An accountant is a specialist in the field of financial transactions and economic accounting. This profession is quite difficult and carries a lot of responsibility. It is not surprising that strict requirements are imposed on a person applying for such a position. The State Standard on Requirements for the Chief Accountant contains the basics of the Federal Law “On Accounting”. From here, the instruction on job responsibilities was taken, from which it follows that the chief accountant maintains the main financial statements for the head. It follows that a person holding such a position must meet the following criteria:
- Higher specialized education.
- Work experience not less than 3 years.
- Know the procedure for drawing up financial statements and carry them out in a timely manner.
- Know the principles of preparing financial statements in accordance with IFRS and do it on time.
- Maintain internal control over accounting, drawing up regular financial and accounting reports
- Properly maintain tax records and plan accordingly.
The content of the professional standard of the teacher
The professional standard of a teacher, in fact, is not much different from the Federal Law "On Education". Although its content contains provisions and other regulations on this area of work. Pedagogical standards are one of the few that are constantly changing and updated. Every teacher is obliged to:
- Have a higher specialized education. Those who carry out professional activities on the basis of secondary education can receive higher education without interrupting work.
- Have a specialization in the subject taught.
- Be able to plan lessons and conduct a qualitative analysis of the results of the educational activities of their students.
- Own not only educational methods, but also laboratory and experimental ones.
- Be able to navigate the individual characteristics of students.
- Possess the methods of conducting a competent and correct assessment of students' knowledge.
It is important to know that there are separate professional standards for educational work with students of different ages.
The essence of the professional standards of lawyers
Jurisprudence is a very broad and complex field of activity. There are also separate standards of professionalism for specialists in this field, which include:
- The presence of specialized education (secondary or higher).
- Knowledge of specialization (field of law).
- Knowledge of the basics of office work.
- Knowledge of the basics of litigation and process.
Several different professional standards have been developed for this profession, depending on the specialization and position. For example, there is a division of standards by position: a legal consultant, a lawyer at an enterprise, or a civil servant.
Specialists from state and municipal institutions are required to be hired in accordance with professional standards, not to mention law enforcement and judicial officials. The last category is additionally subject to mandatory certification.
