Libya does not have a framework of occupational standards. This means it has no firm basis for developing vocational or professional learning and development and no means of measuring an individual’s skills and performance against a national standard. The Ministry of Labour’s Quality Standards Centre has the remit to establish occupational standards for Libya but lacked expertise in developing them.

The European Union, through the PAF II project, funded a two-week training programme to introduce 8 staff members of the Centre and 11 others from Universities, banks, oil companies and other government bodies, to DACUM methodology. This is an approach to identifying occupational standards through workshops with subject matter experts (SME). As well as becoming familiar with the DACUM model, the participants also received facilitation skills training so that they are able to set up effective workshops with SMEs.

Successful completion certificates were awarded by the Minister of Labour and Capacity Development Dr Almahdi Alamen and by Giorgio Graziotti from the EUD.

Following the training the participants are expected to be able to:

• Have excellent and effective communication skills with the targeted SMES to have engage in occupation analysis and attend the necessary occupation analysis workshops
• Prepare and implement an occupation analysis workshops
• Facilitate such workshops so they are effective
• From the workshops draw up the tasks, duties and skills of an occupation according to DACUM methodology

The Quality Centre participants intend to review the trainer and nursing occupations as their first pilots.