WMO
WMO Job Competencies Strategy
WMO; Education and Training Programme
Responses to ETR Office survey
WMO
Regional Response
RA I
RA II
RA III
RA IV
RA V
RA VI
Non Member
Totals
Total Members in
Region
53
36
12
23
21
46
2
193
Number of
Responses
16
15
7
12
13
39
2
104
“Development Status” in Region
(number of responses in
(brackets))
A
B
C
46 (12)
6 (3)
1 (1)
18 (3)
8 (5)
10 (7)
4 (1)
3 (2)
5 (4)
13 (8)
7 (3)
3 (2)
14 (7)
2 (1)
5 (5)
9 (6)
14 (11)
23 (5)
Overall staff numbers
WMO
Estimate total global
NMHS workforce to be
of the order of
200,000 to
Numbers of Members with staffing of
220,000
Number
A
Less than 4
1
1
Between 4 and 7
1
1
Between 8 and 15
3
3
Between 16 and 31
7
6
1
Between 32 and 63
4
3
1
Between 64 and 127
14
10
2
2
Between 128 and 255
18
7
6
5
Between 256 and 511
23
4
9
10
Between 512 and 1023
10
2
4
4
Between 1024 and 2047
13
1
1
11
Between 2048 and 4195
4
1
3
Between 4196 and 8391
4
More than 8392
Total number of Responses
B
4
2
104
C
2
38
25
41
Staffing Profiles
WMO
Reported staff numbers
Organisation entity
Weather Services
Climate Services
Hydrological Services
Observations
Communications and Computing
Administration and Management
Oceanography (not asked)
Agrometeorology (not asked)
Research (not asked)
Training
Environmental monitoring
Other support functions
Equipment Maintenance and Installation
Total staff over all categories *
Professional
27574
3106
1989
17156
6623
19025
99
200
1756
1009
1531
3971
2235
86,274
147,349
Technical
9072
1140
1351
7684
1880
2755
120
89
192
871
2121
1336
28,611
Other
8645
316
1605
4399
1430
7556
110
20
157
451
1988
5121
666
32,464
Total
45291
4562
4945
29239
9933
29336
209
340
2002
1652
4390
11213
4237
147349
147349
WMO context


WMO Congress Cg-16 (2011) recommended that
all technical commissions make definition of
competency standards a high priority
At global level, best not to link capability to
perform job tasks to a qualification or classification



Members run their services differently
Allows members to set their own formal academic qualifications
Competencies provide high level “standard”
descriptions of job tasks


Minimum level of knowledge, skills and behaviors
Members can then adapt to suit national requirements
5
What are Competencies?





Focus on the key aspects of job tasks
Exist alongside defined work processes and
procedures
Can be observed
Are ongoing and evolve only slowly
Are the responsibility of the service area (PWS,
Marine, Aeronautical …) to define, not the training
area
WMO
Related concepts (but not job competencies)
Transferable skills. General communicating,
presenting, motivating, project management,
leadership, facilitating, managing conflict,
coaching, mentoring and relationship-building, etc.
Professional standards. Comply with ethical and
professional standards and maintain professional
credibility and demeanour.
7
Classifications (also not competencies)






Meteorologist/Meteorological Technician or other
national designation
Determined by qualifications (not competencies)
Usually linked to pay grades or scales
Are usually achieved early in career
Do not directly relate to the work tasks
An individual could be qualified to meet a
classification (i.e., they have a degree) but not be
competent to carry out job tasks
8
How do competencies fit?
Requirements
flow
Organizational goals
Organizational Resources
Job competencies
Training needs
Training delivery
Increased
workforce capability
9
Responsible bodies
Technical
Commisions
responsible for
developing
qualifications and
competencies in
their domains of
expertise
(Cg-16)
Technical
Commissions
Technical
Programmes
CBS
All programmes under WWW
Active areas are WIS, PWS, and
Tropical Cyclones)
CAeM
Aeronautical meteorology
CHy
Hydrology and water resources
CCL
Climate
CIMO
Observations
CAgM
Agricultural meteorology
JCOMM
Marine and oceanography
ETR Panel: Competencies for training providers.
Also
coordinates across TPs to develop competencies. EC Panel
reviews.
See updates at http://training.wmo.int (under Training Activities)
10
Standards and Recommended Practises

Standards – must comply
 Aeronautical Meteorological Forecasters and
Observers –



competencies 1 December 2013
qualifications (AMF only) 1 December 2016
Recommended practises – should comply




Trainers
General Forecaster other PWS competencies – to
be discussed at CBS in September
Marine meteorology competencies to be discussed
at JCOMM MG
Climate service provider competencies at CCl in July
11
Documentation
Regulations
Manual / Guides
WMO Technical Regulations
WMO – No. 49 Vol I
Part II Chapter 4
Definition of BIP-M/MT
Part II Chapter 5
Competencies
AMF / AMO
Trainers
WMO-No. 1083 BIP-M
New publication to come on
competency development
and assment
Material on CAeM website
Trainer publication
12
Organizational versus individual competencies

Governments pay for organization competencies:
capabilities of the organization as a whole to carry
out its mission
 NMHSs determine their work forces
 Either everyone can do everything,
 Or teams are built so that the they collectively
meet the competencies.
13
Competency statement format (based on CAeM
competencies)
General considerations. Conditions that apply to all competencies in the job
area.
Competency statement. Concise statement of the job responsibility in terms of
a broad outcome, written as job actions.
Competency description. Provides a more detailed description of the
competency statement, stating the key components of the job responsibility.
Performance criteria. Describe the expected characteristics of successful
performance—not measures of success.
Knowledge and skill requirements. Describe the facts, concepts and principles
required to perform the competency effectively.
14
PWS competencies





In 2010, CBS took action to develop competencies in PWS
and for client relations.
General forecasting competencies will be the foundation
for each of the specialist areas.
EC Panel Members have already provided comments and
feedback to the PWS OPAG.
Earlier versions have been circulated to the ETR
community, Gerald Flemming from Ireland leading the
coordination of the PWS competency development
Discussed during SYMET 2013
15
Top level PWS competency statements
1. Analyse and continually monitor the evolving
meteorological and/or hydrological situation;
2. Interpret observational and model data to forecast
meteorological and hydrological phenomena and
parameters;
3 Develop forecast products and warnings of hazardous and
high-impact phenomena;
4 Ensure the quality of meteorological and hydrological
information, systems and services;
5 Effectively communicate meteorological and hydrological
information, together with associated uncertainties where
appropriate, to internal and external users.
16
PWS - General Considerations
FUNDAMENTAL WMO/PWS COMPETENCY
REQUIREMENTS FOR A WEATHER FORECASTER
The competency requirements for the work of an operational
forecaster can be divided into five top level competency areas.
Taking into consideration the following:
 The nationally-defined PWS areas of responsibility;
 meteorological and hydrological impacts on society; and,
 meteorological and hydrological user requirements, local
procedures and priorities,
a PWS Weather Forecaster should have successfully
completed the BIP-M1(as defined in the revised WMO-No 49,
Volume I), and, in taking into account conditions a to c, should
be able to perform the work indicated in the five top level
competencies
below:
test footer
17
PWS – Competency statement and description
Analyse and continually monitor the evolving
meteorological and hydrological situation




Analyse and interpret all available data to correctly identify weather
features relevant to (or, likely to be relevant to) the area of forecast
responsibility;
1.1 Background knowledge and skills
Applies the theory, methods and practices of meteorological and/or
hydrological analysis and diagnosis;
Shows the ability to visualize/conceptualize meteorological and/or
hydrological information in multiple dimensions (spatial, temporal);
18
Tailoring WMO competencies to national level
WMO Tech Regs
WMO-No. 49
High level statements
Second level statements
from WMO guides or websites
Adaption to national level by
met service provider
19
Thank you for your attention
Jeff Wilson, Director, Education and Training Programme
Patrick Parrish, Chief of Training Activities
www.wmo.int