ISO/IEC 17024: Conformity assessment – General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons is an International Standard which specifies criteria for the operation of a Personnel Certification Body (also known as a certification body for persons). The standard includes requirements for the development and maintenance of the certification scheme for persons upon which the certification is based.
This standard was developed in 2003, and revised in 2012 to provide guidance on organisations wishing to implement valid and verifiable certifications systems.
The Professional Testing Blog writes in 2016 that:
‘Certification of persons in some countries has been implemented by educational institutions, employers and other inappropriate bodies and sometimes based on qualifications (education only or experience only) instead of demonstrated competence (knowledge and skills to achieve intended results). And it is not uncommon to find that Accreditation Bodies in some countries have accredited Certification Bodies who have not followed a valid and acceptable process for developing their schemes. Not understanding that the knowledge and skills being measured by the certification program should be related to a job as demonstrated through a Job/Task Analysis (JTA), some of these programs are based on the “opinion” of one or two experts as to what should be measured by the certification program.’
The Standard deals with best practice in these areas, among more administrative requirements:
Records and Information Requirements
Certification Schemes
Certification Processes
More information can be found at the ISO Web here.