PDCA: Vocational School Requirements

INPUT (LEGAL REQUIREMENTS) 

Access and review the requirements (laws) on: Young Workers-Vocational School Requirements and "Related Laws" (noted at the bottom of this page) and any other risks/opportunities assessment and standards applicable such as customer's requirements.

OWNERSHIP AND RESPONSIBILITY (OWNERS AND TEAM MEMBERS) 

Set up your teams to ensure that your system has the appropriate staff overseeing and implementing all the (input/output) activities and continuously monitoring the system. 

• Senior Management - The Senior Management team and the specific Functional Team Members must continuously work together throughout the PDCA cycles to impact sustainable change and improve overall system performance. 
• Functional Team Members - The Human Resource Manager will rely on the Production Manager and the Hiring, the Payroll (Wages and Benefits) Manager, the Production Manager and Recruitment Manager to fulfill the requirements of the laws regarding Young Workers - Vocational School Requirements. They must continuously communicate with the Senior Management team and other relevant stakeholders consistently and routinely to impact sustainable change and improve overall system performance. 
• Ongoing Support - Worker feedback and participation. Others could include external stakeholders, i.e., NGOs, etc.

INPUT (REQUIRED ACTIVITIES) 

Determine how your factory will meet the legal requirements on Young Workers-Vocational School Requirements . What needs to be in place (activities/processes/procedures) to meet your overall system objectives and show that your factory is committed to complying with the law. 

You may need to assess your current system practices with the system input activities list below and identify the gaps for improvements. 

• Establish controls to ensure maximum ratios of students workers allowed up to 10% of full workforce and 20% of a specific position.
• Ensure students are provided accommodation at no charge if they are away from their usual residence. 
• For example in Jiangsu: Establish max length of contract 12 months.
• Establish controls that wages for students are not less than 80% of regular employee during probation and are paid in full.
• Establish liability insurance for all students including coverage for injury and death and legal fee liability coverage for students.
• Ensure protections against hazardous work for all young workers includes students.
• Establish controls against all overtime for students (Article 16).
• Establish signed agreement between the school, factory and student outlining employment terms, wages and restrictions.

 DO

TRAINING/COMMUNICATION REQUIREMENTS AND RECORDS 

With the required activities(process/procedures) in place, the system's primary owners must continuously communicate and train all managers and workers on the legal requirements and your factory's commitments towards it. 

• Provide initial and refresher training for staff involved in recruitment, selection, and hiring of young workers. 
• Ensure job advertisement and job descriptions state the minimum hiring age and restrictions for young workers. 
• Train managers and supervisors on procedures to systematically protect young workers from occupational hazards, including the prohibition of overtime. 
• Train human resources managers to ensure correct documentation of signed agreements, assignments of students.
• Train payroll managers to ensure the correct set up of wages of students.
• Communicate the company’s young worker policy to any staffing/ recruitment agencies placing workers in the factory. 
• In all instances where training is required, records of training will need to be kept. 

OUTPUTS (OUTCOMES) 

The results (Outputs/Outcomes) from all the activities are listed below. These are the methods/processes/procedures that should be in place to ensure that Young Workers and their Vocational School Requirements
 are protected in the workplace. 

• Control process for student numbers in specific roles and overall workforce
• Established accommodation for students when applicable that meets all dormitory, food, space and ablution legal requirements.
• Vocational training agreements between School, Employer and student that meets legal requirements.
• Minimum wage for students controls.
• Liability policy/policies for all students which meet legal requirements. 
• Work hours controls to ensure no student works overtime.

ESCALATION PROCESS AND TRACKING TEMPLATES 

Below are sample templates to help you manage/organize your system process. You can adjust it as you see fit to work for your facility or your existing management system. 

• Suggestion and Issue Escalation Form
• Suggestion and Issue Escalation Tracking Form

 CHECK

REVIEW OWNERS 

Review owners include the Functional Team Members and specific criteria below:

• Review of each Output should be carried out by another senior staff member within the company or through an independent second or third-party audit. 
• Review Owners can be limited to senior company managers such as the Chief Executive Officer or Head of Human Resources. 
• Alternatively, for in-house review, other Management System owners can review each other’s Management System on a rotational basis. 

EFFECTIVENESS AND EVALUATION PROCESS 

It should never be assumed that every Input/Output activity has been carried out correctly. Review Owners need to make sure all the activities are adequately implemented and working smoothly:  

• Outputs/Outcomes from the DO section are up to date. This means the Review Owners essentially confirm all the Activities in the PLAN/DO sections have been carried out correctly. For example, regularly review young worker (student’s/interns) job assignments to check that restrictions on the job type and working hours meet legal/factory requirements. 
• Conduct an inspection in the factory -check the documentation and interview workers to confirm the Activities (processes/procedures) are correctly implemented to produce the Outputs/Outcomes that meet the requirements of the laws applicable to the Management System.  For example, get feedback from newly hired young workers (students/interns) on the recruitment, selection, and hiring process and any communications around working hours.

EFFECTIVENESS AND EVALUATION OUTPUTS 

• Any findings arising from the process review are escalated to the Management System Owner and Team members mentioned in the PLAN section. This is done using the Escalation Process and Tracking Guidance template in the DO section. 
• Corrective action for the findings is carried out through the Owner and Team members. 
• Findings or faults observed in the Management System, its activities (Input/Output) are summarized for presentation and actions by Factory Manager with Management System Owner and Team Members.

 ACT