ISO 17024 is a quality standard, also known as: General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons.
The ISO 17024 documentation is managed by ISO (International Organization for Standardization), and was last updated in 2012.
ISO 17024 provides a framework for organizations that certify individuals.
Its purpose is to ensure that personnel certification bodies operate in a consistent, comparable, and reliable manner.
By adhering to this standard, a certification body demonstrates that its processes (such as developing exam questions, assessing candidate competence and handling appeals) are fair and impartial.
This can help build trust in the value of the certifications.
Strengths
- Globally recognised
- Ensures fairness and consistency when developing and delivering certification programmes
- Builds trust in accredited organisations
Limitations
- It doesn't guarantee competence, as it's about the process of certification not the content
- It's expensive and time-consuming to develop, document and implement the processes and to pass the audit
- It can lead to an overly bureaucratic approach focussed on compliance rather than on the impact and value of the certificate itself