Registration had to start somewhere. It was precisely because the
initial registration scheme did not set sufficiently high standards that
people like me who were on the original registration panel felt that it
ought to have a sounder base in CPD.

One of my objections was that people with a recognised post-graduate
qualification and two years experience qualified as of right,
irrespective of where those two years had been spent. We argued
strongly that there should be an external validation of that experience
to ensure that people in singleton first appointments should not be
automatically equated to their colleagues who had been in a
professionally supervised position. We also argued that, if chartered
status was the ultimate aim, we should follow other, more mature,
professions and insist on proof - through CPD and mentored development -
that applicants for registration had effectively 'unpacked the bag of
tools' provided by the university courses. It took until 1996 to make
this a reality because such a scheme requires a lot of thought and a
degree of commitment on the part of the Registrar and others to make it
work.

The five year qualification period was introduced for a limited period
only to allow experienced staff but unqualified staff to register and as
a pragmatic way of establishing the principle of registration which they
might otherwise have opposed. That particular category of membership
was, from memory, much more closely scrutinised than the automatic entry
categories. It was focused very much on what the applicant had
achieved, not just how long they had been in the profession, and
required an assessment by a recognised professional.

In the end, registration is only a guide but in the current set up it
demonstrates a desire to go the extra mile. That must say something to
prospective employers. Of course if all applicants for a post are
registered, then the choice will still be dependent on the candidate who
makes the best impression.





Peter Emmerson
Director
Emmerson Consulting Limited
47a Salisbury Road
Harpenden
Hertfordshire AL5 5AR

Phone 01582 769842
Fax 01582 761740
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-----Original Message-----
From: The UK mailing list for archivists, conservators and records
managers. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Hargreaves,
Jan
Sent: 16 April 2002 16:33
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Registration

Bearing in mind the things that have been said about the possible lack
of
quality among pre-1996 registered members, then doesn't that give weight
to
the argument that references and interviews and not restrictive practice
are
still important in the appointment process?

I cheerfully admit that I registered "through the back door". I
qualified
while the current registration scheme was at the planning stage and
chose to
register after my 5 years rather than start from scratch and do the then
pre-registration scheme. But I do my job as professionally as I can and
hope
that that comes across at interview, in my references and in my day to
day
operation as that thing called Archivist.

Of course, once all we pre-'96ers have died off, there'll be nothing to
worry about. ;) *wg*

Jan Hargreaves
Lancashire Record Office



-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 4:16 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Registration


Well done to Richard and Colin for having the guts to say publicly what
a
lot of us have been moaning about privately.