Accreditation of company training schemes extends the Society's engagement with formal professional development. The Society accredits almost all UK and some overseas undergraduate programmes, and a small number of Master's programmes. Participation in an accredited degree programme or an ACTS offers the opportunity for a structured pathway towards their Chartership application, because accredited training is designed to optimise the acquisition of professional skills and experience.

An ACTS will be accredited for a period of five years. The Geological Society will make a modest initial charge for accreditation (currently £900), with an annual fee (currently £100) charged each of the four years that follow successful accreditation.

Companies are asked to bear in mind that this is a contribution towards the full cost of operating the accreditation process, and that the fee charged by the Geological Society for individual applications for Chartership is low compared with many other professional bodies.

During the period of the accreditation, the company and the Geological Society will liaise regularly to ensure that experience gained during operation of the scheme is optimised to meet the needs of participants.

Backdating

The benefits of accreditation may be back-dated, up to a maximum of three years, to the start of an accredited scheme.

The company concerned will be required to demonstrate that the scheme has remained substantially unaltered for the period in question and document minor changes in response to experience gained during the scheme's operation.

Duration of individual programmes with an Accredited Scheme

Individual schemes may last for up to five years and the trainee should maintain the relationship with the Mentor up to the time they attain Chartership and in the early career years following professional validation.

In some instances, the basic training objectives may be reached in three years. If so, guided by the Mentor, the emphasis then should move to the broadening of experience, practising of skills, continuation of CPD planning, taking on increasing responsibility for projects and so on until such time as the trainee is considered by their Mentor to meet all the competencies and be ready to apply for Chartership.

At this stage, the Mentor could become the candidate's Supporter.

As a generalisation, the usual length of time after graduation from Master's level needed to satisfy the requirements of Chartership will be five years or more. At that stage in an individual's career, there will be a major review with the Mentor of achievements and competencies.

If, in the Mentor's professional opinion, the necessary competencies have been attained, the Professional Report should be prepared and the Supporting Professional Documents assembled. Once this is complete, a meeting with the Mentor (as a Supporter) should review all aspects of the application before it is submitted.

An ACTS will first and foremost serve the needs of the employer, and each scheme will be unique in detail.

Within the field of engineering geology, the concept of company training schemes is well established and, in other areas, formal training schemes have also been developed. The Society expects that an ACTS will involve a process of continuing professional development that builds a culture of reflective planning and self-appraisal, with appropriate record keeping to provide supporting documentary evidence.

It is expected that professional staff with expertise in supporting development, who may not be geologists, will participate in administrating an accredited scheme where appropriate.

The Engineering Group of the Geological Society (EGGS) has developed a general training scheme, expressly aimed at those working in this area. Experience has shown that a scheme of this type is highly attractive to employers and employees who wish to engage with the Chartership process.

The EGGS generic scheme forms the core of a number of the company schemes that the Society has endorsed, and its adoption and adaptation is commended. In other areas, individual employers may have in-house training schemes, which may or may not mirror that produced by EGGS.

Benefits to participating companies

Each ACTS will be listed prominently on the Geological Society website, along with the accredited company logo, which helps to promote the career development support that the employer provides to its staff. Companies with ACTSs are expected to benefit in the following ways:

• Accreditation demonstrates to both employees and clients that the company values technical excellence by providing structured development towards professional qualifications.
• It indicates that the company is committed to the the professional development of its geoscientists.
• It enhances a company's ability to recruit high quality staff.
• It encourages a steady flow of employees towards Chartered status.
• It guarantees that the ACTS develops and maintains its quality.
• It provides external recognition that the company looks to develop professionals of the highest quality.
• There is potential for the company to charge higher fees to clients because of the increased number of employees with professional qualifications.
• The company receives clear guidance from the Geological Society of London for candidates preparing their Chartership application.
• The company has input into the Geological Society of London to support Chartership standards.

Benefits to trainees

Trainees participating in the scheme will benefit in the following ways:

• Development objectives are matched to their personal development needs
• The trainee is involved in planning their own professional development.
• Mentoring is guaranteed to ensure that the development progress continues and weaknesses are spotted early and corrected.

There is assurance that all the necessary core competencies for Chartership are addressed and that opportunities to gain the necessary experience and skills are available; enhancing the probability of a successful application.

The detailed content of a scheme is to be agreed with the Geological Society of London's Professional & Chartership Committee and will be administered within companies by mentors involved in the Chartership process.

Accredited schemes will have the following requirements:

• All trainees will already be, or will become, Fellows of the Society.
• The company will appoint a Training Officer to run the scheme.
• Each trainee will be assigned a Mentor who is Chartered, to guide them in planning how they will achieve the scheme's objectives.
• The trainee will keep a training record that is reviewed with the Mentor on a quarterly basis. This record will be important for the trainee should they move between Companies and also for later demonstration of skills and experience in their Chartership application.
• The trainees will prepare, in discussion with the Mentor, an annual CPD plan outlining objectives to be achieved. The plan will be maintained using the GSL online system, the GSL logbook or a similar company specific process. The trainee will regularly discuss CPD achievements with the Mentor, reflect on this and propose a plan with objectives for the following year.
• The trainee will prepare a written report of their achievements over the year, in terms of development and learning, and have this agreed and signed off by the Mentor. In particular, the report should emphasise objectives achieved, skills learned, experience gained and responsibilities undertaken.

At the end of three years, a major review of achievements will be undertaken to assess the progress made by the trainee relevant to the core competencies required for Chartership. Future development plans will address weaknesses or omissions in any competency.

Mentors

Mentors are a most important aspect of the accreditation of Schemes and the Society will rely heavily on their professional judgement regarding attainment of skills and competencies.

The Chartership interview will focus more on the competencies and judgement skills of the candidate. Generally, Mentors are to be Chartered Fellows of the Society and their names registered with the Society against each Scheme.

The Society will invite all Mentors to join the Society's panel of Assessors. If a candidate has not known their proposed Supporter for at least three years, they should seek to obtain a second Supporter for their application, who does not need to be Chartered if the first Supporter is. In exceptional circumstances it may not be possible to identify a Mentor who is a Chartered Fellow, in which case alternative arrangements must be agreed with the Chartership Officer.

Each year, the Society will require companies to supply a short report on each ACTS.

The review will include details of any changes that have been made to the training scheme, a list of trainees and the levels they have achieved, and when they might be eligible to apply for Chartership.

Cost

A fee of £900 will be charged to cover processing the Application and the first year's accreditation.

Subsequently fees will be £100 per annum. A reduced rate may be negotiated for very small organisations. Accreditation will be for five years in the first instance.

Contact

For more information on how to apply, please contact Donna Prisley: [email protected]