The American National Standards Institute and ASTM International recently adopted a new standard for personnel certification. ISO/IEC 17024, General requirements for bodies operating certification schemes of persons addresses the need for standardization in the service sector, a need that has become particularly pressing with more U.S.-based multinational corporations delivering services worldwide. It was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission, and was originally published in 2003.

“A variety of professionals across a wide range of occupations are now required to pursue certification as a means of demonstrating that they have the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to perform their work,” says Lane Hallenbeck, ANSI vice president for conformity assessment. “Given that there are more than 2,000 agencies who declare they certify individuals, ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024 is an exemplary basis for assessing and recognizing the competence of the bodies offering such certification.”

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