STANDARDS have become the most important subject among members of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), which include Standards Bodies, such as the Guyana National Bureau of Standards.Many public and private enterprises are also taking the necessary steps to implement standards to build stakeholder confidence and reap all the added benefits. However, finding employees with the requisite or even minimal knowledge in the area of standardisation continues to be a challenge. To this end, there is consensus and the belief of many that the subject of standardisation should be integrated in the National educational curricula as it is done in many developed and developing countries.

This approach aims to develop a culture of recognising the benefits of standards to different sectors of society. ISO alone has developed in excess of 19,500 standards from food to management to IT and much more. The GNBS has in its possession over 500 standards. The experts in Standardisation are of the view that if standards are taught at the university level, it will equip graduates with the tools necessary to promote the use and implementation of standards in businesses. This will enhance the competitiveness of businesses through their adoption of a quality culture which ultimately can facilitate access of goods and services to lucrative markets.

ISO is organising a series of regional events aimed at supporting developing countries in defining programmes targeting universities and at developing or strengthening courses on education about standardisation in their countries. The final outcome of this process will be an ISO publication highlighting guidelines and good practices for introducing/supporting educational programmes on standardisation in universities.

Recently, the GNBS participated in a Regional workshop under the theme ‘Enhancing collaboration between NSBs and Academia’ sponsored by ISO in Brazil which focused on the sharing of experiences as it relates to the implementation of the subject of standardisation in the educational curricula. Countries like Korea, Brazil and Argentina have successfully integrated standards in the curricula at the University level and Korea from the Nursery level.

If standards are implemented in academia, the following benefits will be realised.

1. At the nursery and primary levels:
a. the child will know that standards exist for basic things they play with or use on a daily basis. For example there are standards for toys, traffic lights, television, shoes, clothes, safety signs, etc.
b. the child will know what happens if there are no standards.

2. At the secondary and university levels:
a. the graduate will be familiar with the management system standards applicable for managing different types of businesses
b. the graduate will be familiar with the benefits of implementing standards
c. The graduate will be familiar with standards available for different products.

3. The role of standards in everyday life will be better recognised facilitating better conformance to standards by businesses.

4. The functions of the National Standards Body and other sources of standards will also be known.

Integrating of standards in the educational curricula will also increase the demand for quality goods and services, compliance to regulations and reduced customer complaints.

The Guyana National Bureau of Standards will participate in the University of Guyana Career Fair 2014 which would be held today (Friday, February 14) under the theme ‘Honouring the Past, Moulding the Present, Transforming the Future’. The GNBS views its participation in this event as another opportunity to impart information relating to Standardisation to visiting students and teachers of Schools and the University.

For further information, contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0062, 219-0065 or 219-0069.