Following discussion by CIfA’s Advisory Council, the statement proposed by the Diggers’ Forum has been adopted and incorporated into the CIfA policy on the use of training posts in archaeological projects http://www.archaeologists.net/sites/default/files/Policy%20statements_up...
The statement sets out the minimum level of competence to be expected of a practising archaeologist as that required for Practitioner grade. Working archaeologists who have not yet achieved that level of competence should be part of a structured training programme to help them achieve PCIfA level competence within a defined time frame.
PCIfA level competence is defined as the competence required to ‘undertake skilled tasks within the historic environment sector under the guidance of others, and carry out responsible work under a level of supervision’
You can find more detailed information about the way CIfA defines and assesses competence here http://www.archaeologists.net/Matrices
Working with our registered organisations, we have been seeking to promote the importance of structured work-based training, particularly at career entry stage, and to provide guidance on developing training plans for organisations and individuals. Our professional practice paper on providing career entry training http://www.archaeologists.net/sites/default/files/2014.PPP_.Training-too... outlines a useful model which organisations can adopt and adapt.
For more information about CIfA’s work on training and professional development, please contact kate.geary [at] archaeologists.net.
