ISO Certification as a Framework for Standardized Nuclear Security Training: The Experience of the WINS Academy

The international community has spent considerable time, money, and effort attempting to establish a series of national and regional Centers of Excellence (COEs), also known as Nuclear Security Support Centers (NSSCs). These centers tend to have a wide variety of objectives, structures, and methods of delivery. Unsurprisingly, no internationally accepted standard exists on how they should operate. The IAEA has produced some excellent guidance (TECDOC 1734), but by virtue of its role cannot provide standards for benchmarking success. Against this backdrop, WINS launched the WINS Academy, an initiative to provide practitioners with opportunities to earn certification in Nuclear Security Management. The training program can be completed entirely online, and candidates can sit for their certification exams at more than 5,100 accredited test centers in 180 countries. The program already has over 450 participants from 65 countries. Before launching the Academy, we applied for and achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification for our quality management systems. Through this process, we were made aware of a new ISO standard 29990:2010. The purpose of ISO 29990 is to improve and standardize the quality of education and training in non-university settings, including industry training programs. We took this standard into account when developing the WINS Academy. In December 2014, our learning services were certified against the standard on our first attempt. Achieving ISO 29990 certification has given WINS an internationally recognized external benchmark of quality; demonstrates our credibility, competence and professionalism; and gives potential employers and others in the industry an objective measurement of our participants’ security knowledge. Such knowledge is also transferrable across international boundaries. We recommend that all COEs follow a similar model, in which their programs are evaluated against professional standards developed by a recognized, respected certifying body rather than developing their own ad hoc arrangements, which are ultimately unsustainable. Having an independent assessment of a COE’s services is a highly effective way to demonstrate their quality and competence and gives confidence to stakeholders, legislators and learners alike. This approach is probably the most effective, most efficient way to demonstrate that the title of Center of Excellence is justified.