Secretariat of Education
Higher Education and Scientific Research
General Direction of Professions
“International Negotiations of Professional
Services in Mexico”
C.P.A. Victor Beltran
General Director of Professions
International Negotiations of
Professional Services in Mexico
• Professional services are one of the most dynamic aspects of world
trade today.
• Globalization, promotes a strong demand for professional services and
free mobility among countries.
• Processes of economic development and trave have reinforced the need
of professional service providers to become more competitive.
• Mexico has been promoting a series of actions that aim to enable the
country to be better prepared, which nowadays is characterized by an
increasing demand in quality, competitiveness and transparency, in
which higher education and professional services are included.
• Important to make reference to some of the most significant changes
that have been taking place in higher education in the professional
service around the world.
• Changes: Accelerated evolution of scientific and technological
knowledge since the second half of the 20th Century.
• In Mexico, an answer to these changes became eviden in the late sixties.
• Education had to positively impact on the efficiency, and the well being
of society.
• Result of these actions: growth and diversification of the educational
services.
Council for the Accreditation of Higher Education
(COPAES)...
• Nongovernmental organization.
• Mission: to aid in quality assurance of the higher education
academic programs of both public and private universities in Mexico.
• How is it done? Through recognizing organizations that can accredit
the higher education programs that can ensure and prove the
appropiateness, quality, and dependability of both he processes and
the results.
• Self-evaluation, diagnostic evaluation, institutional and specialized
accreditation, certification and recertification became common practice
in higher education and also a source of relevant debates.
• The activities that have been taking place to perfect the practice of our
professional service providers were reinforced by a series of actions
adopted as a result of negotiations that began with the Free Trade
Agreements.
• Mexico participates in International Organizations:
•World Trade Organization (WTO)
• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
• Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
• Mexico has signed 10 Free Trade Agreements with 41 countries, among:
•NAFTA with USA and Canada, January 1, 1994
• FTA with Colombia and Venezuela, January 1, 1995
• FTA with Bolivia, January 1, 1995
• FTA with Costa Rica, January 1, 1995
• FTA with Nicaragua, July 1, 1998
• FTA with Chile, August 1, 1999
• FTA of the North Triangle with El Salvador, Guatemala and
Honduras, March 15, 2001
• FTA with the European Union, with 25 countries, July 1, 2000
• FTA with Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland,
July 1, 2001
• FTA with Urugay, July 15, 2004
• FTA with Japan, September 2004
• These agreements include a section of negotiation of professional
services.
• These agreements, establish that he negotiation of professional services
is subject to three fundamental principles:
• Most- Favored- Nation Treatment (MFN)
• National Treatment
• Local Presence
• The mentioned legal international instruments determine a series of
“RESERVATIONS”, for each country, and limitations as well.
• In the quest and construction of this solution in the processes of certifi-cation of our professionals the following was considered fundamental:
• Coordination and participation of the participants.
• Active participation of the Productive sector.
• The direct participation of all the State Governments...National
coverage.
• Participation of the Federal entities.
• Establishment of an Advisory Board of Professional Certification.
• Processes be: transparent, voluntary, reliable, external, and plural; and
that they guarantee quality professional services to society.
Advisory Board for Professional Certification,
conformed by:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
A General Coordinator
A representation of 8 of the 32 states in the country
A representative of each of the following Secretariats:
Economy, Health, Labor, and Education
A representative of National Chamber of Commerce and
Industry
A representative from COPAES
A Chairman, the General Director of Professions of the Secretariat
of Education
I
•Baja California
•Baja California Sur
•Sinaloa
•Sonora
II
•Coahuila
•Chihuahua
•Durango
•Zacatecas
III
•Guanajuato
•Nuevo León
•San Luis Potosí
•Tamaulipas
V
•Estado de México
•Hidalgo
•Querétaro
IV
•Aguascalientes
•Colima
•Jalisco
•Nayarit
VI
•Guerrero
•Michoacán
•Morelos
•Puebla
VII
•Chiapas
•Oaxaca
•Tlaxcala
•Veracruz
VIII
•Campeche
•Quintana Roo
•Tabasco
•Yucatán
WORKING STRUCTURE
WORK GROUPS BY PROFESSION
Advisory Board
for Professional
Certificación
•State officials
•Counseling Technical Comission from SEP
•Professional Associations, HEI, and associations.
•Distinguished ProfessionalService Providers
•Specialized Evaluation Organizations
•Government agencies
(Executive Advisory
Board)
Recomendations
•Appropriateness
•Supervision
•Evaluation
•Control
CERTIFYING BODIES
DGP-SEP
----------------------------State Authorities
•Evaluation
•Control
•Supervision
Certifyed
Professionals
Characteristics of the Working Structure
• Work groups are being organized by professional fields.
• These work groups will be in charge of creating and presenting a
proposal to the Advisory Board, of the criteria and requirements for
organizations that will certify professional service providers in each
field.
Restrictions of the Working Model
• No Federal of State government will be able to work as a certifying
institutions.
• The period of time granted to the Certifying bodies to act as such is
limited, and their work is evaluated and supervised by the Federal
Government and the Governments in each State.
• The certification granted will be limited in time.
• All of the professional certification processes must have an external
body, expert in evaluation.
• All of the professional certification processes must comply with specific
minimum requirements of quality.
• Professional Certification will be recognized Nationally.
• For professinal practice to take place in high moral and legal manner,
it is of outermost importance to observe the following principles:
•
1.
To acknowledge that actions that we implement should be
based in participation and co responsability of all the parties
involved in the area of professional practice.
2.
That these tasks are conducted with awareness and above all
fully convinced that we would have to continuously pursue a
better world for future generations.
National System of Certification provides a great opportunity to
restate our commitment with society.
Ideas:
• Our societies are becoming more complex, informed, and participative.
•Our professional service providers are intersted in raising the quality
of their services.
• Adequate regulations can only be created with the responsible
participation of all the sectors related.
• The main goal fo having a System for Professional Certification should
only be that of having quality professional services.
Finally...
• Mexican Society has continuously requested the social actors involved
in the certification of professional service providers, that the goal is
for it to take place with updated knowledge, skills and abilities.
• It is very important to participate in these processes, that are not only
necessary of the present generations, but also for generations to come.
• It is undeniable that the answers we will provide to these demands will
be equally framed in the valued code of ethics and the profession itself.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!