CIRCULAR

ON THE PROVISION OF TRAINING FOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AUDITORS AND PRODUCT CERTIFICATION AUDITORS OF CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT BODIES

Pursuant to the Law on Quality of Products and Goods dated November 21, 2007;

Pursuant to Decree No. 132/2008/ND-CP dated December 31, 2008 of the Government elaborating certain Articles of the Law on Quality of Products and Goods;

Pursuant to Decree No. 20/2013/ND-CP dated February 26, 2013 of the Government of Vietnam on functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam;

At the request of the General Director of Directorate for Standards; Metrology and Quality of Vietnam;

The Minister of Science and Technology hereby provides for the provision of training for management system auditors and product certification auditors of conformity assessment bodies.

Chapter I

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Article 1. Scope

1. This Circular provides for the provision of training for management system auditors and product certification auditors of conformity assessment bodies, including:

a) Competence requirements to be satisfied by auditor training facilities;

b) Procedures for declaration of competence in providing training of training facilities;

c) Responsibilities held by regulatory authorities and training facilities.

2. This Circular does not apply to internal auditor training courses.

Article 2. Regulated entities

This Circular applies to:

1. Conformity assessment bodies;

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3. Other relevant organizations and individuals.

Article 3. Definitions

This Circular applies terms and definitions in national standards TCVN ISO/IEC 17000:2007 Conformity assessment - Vocabulary and general principles, TCVN ISO/IEC 17065 Conformity assessment -  requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services, TCVN ISO/IEC 17021:2011 Conformity assessment - Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems and the terms below:

1. “Training program” refers to a document that stipulates the purpose, required contents of knowledge and skills, overall structure of the course, teaching plan, ratio between training contents, between theory and practice, between exercises and (or) discussion, between methods of evaluating results and issuing training certificates for specific standards.

2. “detailed training outline” is a document that specifies the knowledge and skills requirements for each training content specified in a training program.

3. “training course" means a group of lessons that provide the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out an audit of a specific management system or product certification audit.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 4. Competency requirements for training facilities

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1. It must be established according to regulations of law and operate in the area in which training is provided;

2. It must have developed and applied the Quality management system according to the National Standard TCVN ISO 9001 for the scope of training;

3. The training facility must have at least 01 tenured lecturer (public employee or employee signing a fixed-term contract for a term of 12 months or more) for a system auditor training course or a product certification auditor training course and meet the competence requirements specified in Article 5 of this Circular;

In necessary cases, the training facility may employ a qualified lecture who meets the regulations in Article 5 of this Circular;

4. The training facility must have developed a training program and detailed training outline for a training course which meets the requirements in Article 6 of this Circular;

5. The training facility must meet requirements of material facilities and equipment for organizing a training course.

Article 5. Competence requirements for lectures

1. Have an undergraduate degree or higher;

2. Be proficient in their area of expertise;

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4. Have at least 07 (seven) years of experience (from the time of university graduation) and have conducted at least 30 audits as an audit team leader.

Article 6. Requirements for training programs and outlines of training courses

1. Each training facility must develop a training program and detailed training outline, at least ensuring the basis contents prescribed in Appendix I enclosed herewith for each training course.

2. The minimum duration of a management system auditor or product certification auditor training course is 05 (five) days, in which the minimum duration of auditing skill training is 03 (three) days.

3. Requirements for administering midterm exams, final exams and granting training certificates:

a) A midterm exam can be a short essay test, multiple choice test or a group discussion;

b) A final exam can be a written test including essay and multiple choice sections or both. The final exam shall be graded on a scale from 1 to 100. The examinee must have at least 70 points to pass the final exam;

c) At the end of a training course, the training facility will, based on the participation process, midterm exam results and final exam results, grant a training certificate to qualified examinees.

Article 7. Procedures for declaration of competence in providing training

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a) A declaration of competence in providing training using the Form in Appendix II enclosed herewith;

b) A copy of a Decision on establishment or a Business Registration Certificate or an Investment certificate (in case the application is submitted in person and the copy is uncertified, an original is required for comparison; in case the application is submitted by post, the copy must be certified);

c) Documents proving the application of the Quality management system according to the National Standard TCVN ISO 9001 for the scope of training;

d) A training program and detailed outline for each training course;

dd) A list of lectures meeting the requirements in clauses 3, 4 and 5 of this Circular for each training course and attached documents proving competence.

2. Processing the application:

a) Within 05 (five) working days from the day of receiving the application for declaration, if the application is insufficient as regulated, the training facility will receive a request for supplementation of the application.. After 15 working days from the day on which the request for supplementation is received, if the application is not supplemented as requested, the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality may cancel the processing of the application.

b) Within 15 working days from the day on which the valid and sufficient application is received, the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality shall consider and examine the application, and promulgate a Notice of receipt of the application for declaration of competence in providing training using the Form in Appendix III enclosed herewith if the training facility is qualified. The Notice of receipt shall be effective for up to 03 (three) years from the day on which it is signed.

c) In case the training facility is unqualified, within the period prescribed in point b of this clause, the training facility must be notified in writing of reasons for rejection.

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1. If the training facility that has been notified of receipt of the application for declaration of competence in providing training declares supplementations or adjustments to the scope of training stated in the Notice of receipt, the facility shall prepare 01 (one) application for declaration of supplementations or adjustments to the scope of training and submit it in person or by post to the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality. The application shall include the documents prescribed in points a, d and dd clause 1 Article 7 of this Circular.

2. The Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality shall process the application according to the regulations in clause 2 Article 7 of this Circular.

Article 9. Suspension, revocation of Notice of receipt

1. A Notice of receipt shall be suspended if the training facility commits one of the following violations:

a) Failure to comply with the regulations of this Circular and legislative documents, related guidelines of the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality;

b) Failure to comply with training process as regulated;

c) Failure to maintain the declared organizational structure and competence according to requirements of the corresponding standards.

2. A Notice of receipt of a training facility shall be revoked if the training facility commits one of the following violations:

a) The training facility is dissolved, goes bankrupt or seriously violates regulations of law in force;

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c) The training facility uses fake or false records and documents for the declaration of provision of training;

d)  The training facility falsifies training records and documents;

dd) The training facility grants training certificates without provision of training;

e) The training facility has a Notice of receipt suspended but fails to take remedial measures within the period of suspension specified in the notice of suspension;

g) The training facility fails to comply with the requirements and regulations on inspection and examination of competent regulatory authorities.

3. Depending on the severity of violations, the training facility whose Notice of receipt is revoked shall have training results cancelled and be only reissued the Notice of receipt after 02 (two) years from the day on which the notice of revocation is issued and violations have been corrected. In case where the training results are cancelled, the training facility shall provide compensation for the damage to organizations and individuals that have paid training costs.

Chapter III

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES HELD BY REGULATORY AUTHORITIES AND TRAINING FACILITIES

Article 10. Rights and responsibilities of the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality

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2. Notify the list of training facilities that have Notices of receipt granted, suspended or revoked on the website of the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality.

3. Carry out inspections and examinations of the provision of training of training facilities and handle violations, under its jurisdiction, according to regulations of this Circular and regulations of relevant laws.

Article 11. Rights and responsibilities held by training facilities

1. Results of the provision of training for management system auditors and product certification auditors of certification bodies shall be considered approval by regulatory agencies within the process of handling administrative procedures if training facilities have declared their competences in providing training according to regulations herein.

2. Adhere to the declared training programs and training contents and regulations on training of this Circular and relevant laws.

3. Only employ the lectures listed in applications for declaration.

4. Store all training records according to laws.

5. Publish information on training courses that have been organized including names of courses and date of organization on websites of training facilities.

6. Grant training certificates to trainees who have completed training courses.

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8. Comply with regulations and requirements for inspections and examinations of competent regulatory agencies.

9. Report in writing situations of training provision to the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality every November or whenever requested. Contents of the report:

a) A list of training courses that have been run within the last 12 months or a specified period;

b) A list of trainees of those training courses;

c) Recommendations and proposals (if any);

10. Comply with other rights and obligations in accordance with regulations of law.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 12. Effect

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Article 13. Organization of implementation

1. The Director General of the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality is responsible for guiding, inspecting and organizing the implementation of this Circular.

2. Any question or difficulty arising during the implementation should be reported in writing to the Ministry of Science and Technology for further instructions and handling./.

PP. MINISTER
DEPUTY MINISTER




Tran Viet Thanh

APPENDIX I

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Training program for CONFORMITY assessment of management system/product conformity certification

1. General introduction of the training course:

a) Objectives of the training course

b) Introduction of Standards (in relation to the management system/product)

c) Training method

d) Method of audit of results of the training course

2. Requirements for knowledge of trainees before enrolling in the training course

3. Learning objectives of trainees

4. Knowledge and skills obtained after the training course

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6. Contents of the training course:

a) Basic purposes of the standards in the training course, explanations for principles, processes and techniques used in audits,

b) Explanations for purposes and contents:

- Standards for management systems or quality assurance systems (for product certification training courses)

- Practical application

- Standard application process

- Legal framework related to the certification

- Audit skills

c) Explanations of roles of auditors in processes of audit in accordance with the ISO 19011 standard.

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dd) Sampling methods and procedures (for product certification auditor training courses)

e) Planning, conducting and reporting an audit using the ISO 19011 standard and other relevant standards

g) Other contents (if any)

7. Period of the training course

8. Requirements for lectures:

a) Lectures must satisfy competence requirements

b) Requirements for the minimum and maximum number of trainees of a training course must be satisfied

c) The number of lectures must be appropriate to the number of trainees of a training course

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a) Evaluation of completion of the training course

b) Management and evaluation of the training course

c) Management and organization of exams

d) Provision of regulations on certificate grant

10. Material facilities and equipment necessary for the training course.

ANNEX II

Form of declaration of competence in providing training
(enclosed with Circular No. 36/2014/TT-BKHCN dated December 12, 2014 of the Minister of Science and Technology of Vietnam)

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Independence - Freedom – Happiness
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Facility’s name: …………………………………………………………………………..

Address:…………………………………………………………………………..

Tel: ……………………….Fax:……………………Email: ....................

Hereby declares:

competence in providing training for management system auditors/product certification auditors: ………………………………………. (insert name of specific standard).

We declare to be competent to provide training and to be held accountable for training provision in accordance with relevant requirements of law./.

………[location]….., [date]…….
Leader of the training FACILITY
(full name, signature and seal)

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APPENDIX III

FORM OF NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF APPLICATION FOR DECLARATION OF COMPETENCE IN PROVIDING TRAINING
(enclosed with Circular No. 36/2014/TT-BKHCN dated December 12, 2014 of the Minister of Science and Technology of Vietnam)

Ministry of Science and Technology
Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality
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SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Independence - Freedom – Happiness
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No.           /TB-TDC

Hanoi,….(date)..…., 20

NOTICE

of receipt of the application for declaration of competence in providing training

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This Notice acknowledges the declaration of (insert name of the training facility) ……………………….. in complying with the requirements for the provision of training for auditors.

(insert name of the training facility)………………………….. must take full responsibility for the suitability of training courses according to applicable regulations./.

Director General

Thông tư 36/2014/TT-BKHCN Quy định hoạt động đào tạo chuyên gia đánh giá hệ thống quản lý và chuyên gia đánh giá chứng nhận sản phẩm của tổ chức đánh giá sự phù hợp do Bộ trưởng Bộ Khoa học và Công nghệ ban hành