A new ISO standard aims to improve the quality of offerings on the global market that has grown up around non-formal education and training, such as vocational training, life-long learning and in-company training.

ISO 29990:2010, Learning services for non-formal education and training – Basic requirements for service providers, will also enhance transparency and allow comparison on a worldwide basis of learning services, offering a single alternative backed by international consensus to the huge variety of national service and management standards which now exists in the field of non-formal learning.

Knowledge is becoming a key factor in successful corporate management all over the world and education is increasingly being regarded as a business-oriented service.

The growing economic importance of learning in the global knowledge society has created new economic opportunities such as activity created by the provision of for-profit learning services. Quality assurance therefore becomes a crucial issue.

Quality assurance therefore becomes a crucial issue.

The objective of ISO 29990:2010 is to provide a generic model for quality professional practice and performance, and a common reference for learning service providers (LSPs) and their clients in the design, development and delivery of non-formal education, training and development. The standard encourages a focus on the learner and the results of the process, and emphasizes the full range of options available for delivering learning services.

Benefits for learners

• Transparency/comparability of services on offer.

• Transparency/comparability across national borders.

• Reliability of training courses on offer.

• Optimized processes.

• Improved learning environment.

• Assured resources, including trainers, with suitable competence.

Benefits for international cooperation

• Common quality basis through unified standards/common understanding of quality.

• No distortion of the competitive market

• International comparable benchmarks for development of quality.

• Basis for development of further specific requirements for international cooperation in the area of Education and training.