What is a NOS?

What is a National Occupational Standard (NOS)?

“National Occupational Standard (NOS) defines the measurable performance outcomes required from an individual engaged in a particular task. They list down what an individual performing that task should know and also do. These standards can form the benchmarks for various education and training programs and recruitment range of HRM practices. Just as each job role may require the performance of a number of tasks, the combination of all the NOSs corresponding to these tasks would form the Qualification Pack (QP) for that job role. The NOSs and QP for each job role corresponding to each level of the NSQF are being formulated by the concerned Sector Skill Councils (SSCs).

Further, NSQF notifications states that in the event of there being no SSC for a given sector, or inability on the part of the SSC to produce the NOSs/QPs in a timely manner, this responsibility may be assigned by the National Skills Qualifications Committee (NSQC) to a relevant regulatory body or other entity having experience and knowledge of the sector.”

Advantages of NOS based certification

In the proposed model, one awarding body would be free to adopt NSQF aligned qualification of any other awarding body. The model advocates the unbundling of QPs in its NOSs so that any awarding body or training provider can picks up approved NOSs and bundles them up in the form of a QP as per the need of its target audience and can impart training on that QP.

NOSs are developed breaking down the job into main function which may or may not be common across jobs in other sectors too. It has been observed that there are some functions which are cross-cutting such as teamwork, health and safety, customer service. Re-bundling of NOSs provides flexible toolkit or array of functions from which a Qualification can be designed on the basis of the need and demand of target audience.

NOSs are the basic units which can be repackaged in order to meet the need of sector specific Qualifications. In such a case awarding bodies or the providers of the Qualifications get freedom to design their own training programs clubbing together the required NOSs. The packaging of these approved NOSs can be done keeping in mind the purpose of the Qualification, duration of the Qualification (whether short term Qualification or a long term Qualification), level of the Qualification (entry level Qualification or a specialised Qualification).