U.S. Department of Defense Names ANSI Accreditor of Personnel Certification Bodies for Workforce Improvement Program Under DoD Directive 8570.1

WASHINGTON, May 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has been named the approved accreditor of certification bodies by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for its Information Assurance (IA) Workforce Improvement Program. Recognition by the DoD further attests to the highest quality of ANSI's personnel certification accreditation program and is the latest example of how governmental agencies in key sectors such as national security, public safety, and healthcare rely upon ANSI accreditation for third-party verification of the competence of certification bodies.

ANSI's designation as the accreditor for the program is stated in revisions to a manual issued under the authority of DoD Directive 8570.1, Information Assurance Training, Certification, and Workforce Management. Originally published in 2004 and revised in April 2010, the manual provides guidance and procedures for the training, certification, and management of the DoD workforce conducting IA functions in assigned duty positions.

According to the manual, IA personnel must receive and maintain certification for the highest level functions that they perform related to data management, use, processing, storage, and transmission. Bodies issuing this certification must be accredited to the International Standard ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024, General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons. New revisions to the manual state that ANSI is the approved accreditor for these certification bodies.

ANSI has served as an accreditor for certification bodies involved in this program for several years through the Institute's Personnel Certification Accreditation Program, and will continue to do so following these revisions. ANSI is the only personnel certification accreditation body in the U.S. to fulfill the requirements of ISO/IEC 17011:2004, Conformity assessment - General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies, which represents the highest internationally accepted practices for accreditation bodies.

"ANSI is recognized for its long and successful track record in accrediting certification programs for a wide variety of products, personnel, and services," said Lane Hallenbeck, ANSI vice president of accreditation services. "We are pleased to serve as the approved accreditation body recognized by DoD under its Information Assurance Workforce Improvement Program, and we look forward to continuing and deepening our involvement in this initiative."

Accreditation by an independent third party enhances the credibility and value of these certifications by attesting to the competence of certifying bodies. When certifiers are accredited, an impartial assessor evaluates the certification process, determining if the examination is evaluating the identified competencies and enhancing consumer and public confidence in a certification program and the person who holds the certification.

Since the inception of ANSI's Personnel Certification Accreditation Program in 2003, the Institute has accredited 30 personnel certification bodies that represent more than 60 different credentials. In total, over 2.5 million professionals currently hold certifications from ANSI-accredited personnel credentialing bodies.

For more information on ANSI's accreditation services, visit www.ansi.org/accreditation.

About ANSI

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide.  

The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).

SOURCE American National Standards Institute