10th December 2008
Woburn House, London
Professional bodies have an important part to play in the routes and requirements for entry to the professions. These routes and requirements vary greatly between professions and between professional bodies and there is often debate over the worth of examination-based entry versus on the job experience. There are also new tensions associated with the growing number of graduates and the changing pattern in higher education and career progression.
There is ambiguity surrounding the role of professional bodies with regard to initial professional qualifications in the context of the new Government skills agenda, widening access to the professions and an overriding emphasis on the skills required of professionals by employers. Is the control of these routes and requirements slipping from professional bodies as they become more influenced by employers’ needs?
This highly topical and relevant event explored several themes, including:
- Various routes to entry and how they work;
- How professional bodies are working with Sector Skills Council, Higher Education and employers.
- How professional bodies can ensure that their role is recognised and set apart from the roles of other organisations, and how they can adapt to thrive within this new government framework.
Presentations came from leaders in the field, including the UK Commission for Employment and Skills and Alison Wolf, Professor of Public Sector Management, who is renowned for her influential work on training and skills policy, universities and lessons from the professions. PARN also launched its latest research publication, and presented findings associated with the routes and requirements for becoming professionally qualified.
Two themed streams ran through the event, one focusing on qualifications; the other on Sector Skills Councils and their role. Both streams involved hands-on, participatory workshops to stimulate discussion and thought among delegates about the role of professional bodies in the light of the rapidly developing Government skills agenda.
View the event programme here.
Delegate feedback from the event:
“The knowledge gained from the conference will help us to further develop qualifications and our validation processes” - Kate Geary BA MIfA, Training & Standards Co-ordinator, Institute for Archaeologists
"Super project - great to tie things together and make comparison between sectors" - Alisdair Orr, Science Council (about Stan Lester's presentation)
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