The great big "Profession/Professional/Professionalism" debate.

[oslac]

The term Professional has different meanings to different people.

 

A professional is usually considered to be someone who would normally be taught to minimum degree standard, be a chartered member of a 'professional' body and abide by the codes of conduct of that body. The professional body is usually identified as the lead body for that particular vocation/industry and is usually (but not always) given its charter by the Privvy Council (as mentioned earlier). The title is usually protected but not always ie. Architect is protected but Landscape Architect is not, however Chartered Landscape Architect is protected. Professionals would also normally give advice and opinion which one would expect to rely on and be insured for professional negligence.

 

Many people like to call themselves professional but the meaning of the term professional often relates to being paid and having some skills in an area of work. So a tree surgeon is not professional in the Chartered body understanding of the word but is professional in the fact that he/she has some skills and is paid for a job and caries out his work to a good standard.

 

The Institute of Chartered Foresters is a professional body but the Arb Assoc is not (no matter how much the Arb Assoc want to be, they are a trade body albeit with a membership structure and Codes of Conduct. To get past this slight difficulty, the Arb Assoc teamed up with the Society for the Environment and can now confer the title of Chartered Environmentalist on its Professional Members and Fellows.

 

Clear as mud . . . I hope

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

The term Professional has different meanings to different people.

 

The Institute of Chartered Foresters is a professional body but the Arb Assoc is not (no matter how much the Arb Assoc want to be, they are a trade body albeit with a membership structure and Codes of Conduct. To get past this slight difficulty, the Arb Assoc teamed up with the Society for the Environment and can now confer the title of Chartered Environmentalist on its Professional Members and Fellows.

 

Clear as mud . . . I hope

 

I think we're pretty professional and until such time as the ICF started to offer 'Chartered Arboriculturist', status circa 5 years ago(?), we were the choice of many as their professional body...and indeed still are for some I would suggest.

 

Also we have the AA Registered Consultants scheme / status, some of whom choose not to become ICF.

 

There, doubtless that's stirred the 'mud' a little

 

Cheers..

Paul

[woodyguy]

Oslac's comments are totally correct. The one thing that he didn't add which defines a profession is that you can be struck off. So you have a qualification, you must belong to a professional body, you take responsibility for your advice, have indemnity insurance and if you transgress, that professional body can stop you working. So physiotherapists are professionals and counsellors are not.

[oslac]

I think we're pretty professional and until such time as the ICF started to offer 'Chartered Arboriculturist', status circa 5 years ago(?), we were the choice of many as their professional body...and indeed still are for some I would suggest.

 

Also we have the AA Registered Consultants scheme / status, some of whom choose not to become ICF.

 

There, doubtless that's stirred the 'mud' a little

 

Cheers..

Paul

 

I am sure you are very professional but the AA is not a professional body whether you or anyone else wants it to be or not. AA registered consultants (no offence to any Registered Consultant) is an in-house status thing and has no professional meaning outside of the AA. In any other professional body, being a Member or Fellow is usually the highest level one can reach. Somehow Members and Fellows of the AA have no real value within the AA yet Registered Consultants are seen by the AA to be the gods of arb. . . why's that then?

 

If the AA want to be considered alongside the ICF, they should raise the status of its Members and Fellows and get rid of the Registered Consultants. The AA pushes the status of Registered Consultants and even advertises them on the AA website but the Members and Fellows are invisible and can't even use their (non-professional body) logo . . Why's that then.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Even if it takes 8 months for you to reply

 

yeah, I know:blushing:

 

cant catch em all, sometimes theres 1k unread posts when i look in!

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

I am sure you are very professional but the AA is not a professional body whether you or anyone else wants it to be or not. AA registered consultants (no offence to any Registered Consultant) is an in-house status thing and has no professional meaning outside of the AA. In any other professional body, being a Member or Fellow is usually the highest level one can reach. Somehow Members and Fellows of the AA have no real value within the AA yet Registered Consultants are seen by the AA to be the gods of arb. . . why's that then?

 

If the AA want to be considered alongside the ICF, they should raise the status of its Members and Fellows and get rid of the Registered Consultants. The AA pushes the status of Registered Consultants and even advertises them on the AA website but the Members and Fellows are invisible and can't even use their (non-professional body) logo . . Why's that then.

 

Hi there,

 

I would disagree, Members and Fellows do indeed have value as being the highest levels of professional membership within the Association attained through qualifications and CPD etc. The AARCs are different as they are also at least Prof Members who have chosen to present their application of knowledge and experience for peer review, via reports portfolio submission and interview, to attain that status. We value all of our members equally as it is from students and ordinary members etc. that the Profs and Fellows of the future are borne and we do encourage qualification, career and membership progression.

 

Members and Fellows are welcomed to promote themselves accordingly and indeed use the appropriate post-nominal, i.e. M.Arbor.A / F.Arbor.A, however currently the use of the logo is restricted to the AARCs and ArbACs. However, what is current today may not be tomorrow.

 

The AA and ICF are working closely together to better place the 'profession' for the future.

 

I will ensure your valued comments are fed-back.

 

Cheers..

Paul

[Gary Prentice]

I think we're pretty professional and until such time as the ICF started to offer 'Chartered Arboriculturist', status circa 5 years ago(?), we were the choice of many as their professional body...and indeed still are for some I would suggest.

 

Also we have the AA Registered Consultants scheme / status, some of whom choose not to become ICF.

 

There, doubtless that's stirred the 'mud' a little

 

Cheers..

Paul

 

Much as some members of the ICF would like to forget, the ICF started originally as an arboricultural and forestry organization - back in the mists of ime.

[oslac]

Hi there,

 

I would disagree, Members and Fellows do indeed have value as being the highest levels of professional membership within the Association attained through qualifications and CPD etc. The AARCs are different as they are also at least Prof Members who have chosen to present their application of knowledge and experience for peer review, via reports portfolio submission and interview, to attain that status. We value all of our members equally as it is from students and ordinary members etc. that the Profs and Fellows of the future are borne and we do encourage qualification, career and membership progression.

 

Members and Fellows are welcomed to promote themselves accordingly and indeed use the appropriate post-nominal, i.e. M.Arbor.A / F.Arbor.A, however currently the use of the logo is restricted to the AARCs and ArbACs. However, what is current today may not be tomorrow.

 

The AA and ICF are working closely together to better place the 'profession' for the future.

 

I will ensure your valued comments are fed-back.

 

Cheers..

Paul

 

Being a Member of a Professional body ie Landscape Institute requires the candidate to take a rigorous period of learning (beyond the academic) but peer reviewed and then to take an oral exam (peer reviewed) and if they pass all of this, they are awarded Chartership and become a Member.

 

The AA seem to want it both ways. On the one hand you say Members and Fellows are the highest levels of professional membership but then again not high enough to be given the ultimate accolade as that is reserved for Registered Consultants. Is the AA really being fair to its Members and Fellows. Surely, like other professional bodies, you are peer reviewed at the Membership stage not at some later point otherwise, what is the value of employing someone who is only a Member of the AA rather than a registered Consultant.

 

Just wondering like

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

Being a Member of a Professional body ie Landscape Institute requires the candidate to take a rigorous period of learning (beyond the academic) but peer reviewed and then to take an oral exam (peer reviewed) and if they pass all of this, they are awarded Chartership and become a Member.

 

The AA seem to want it both ways. On the one hand you say Members and Fellows are the highest levels of professional membership but then again not high enough to be given the ultimate accolade as that is reserved for Registered Consultants. Is the AA really being fair to its Members and Fellows. Surely, like other professional bodies, you are peer reviewed at the Membership stage not at some later point otherwise, what is the value of employing someone who is only a Member of the AA rather than a registered Consultant.

 

Just wondering like

 

Members and Fellows have equal opportunity to be peer reviewed via the AARC process. The current situation has evolved over a long period of time and it may well be that it is time to review.

 

Cheers..

Paul

[treeman61]

tradesman, noun

a person engaged in trading or a trade, typically on a relatively small scale.

 

profession,noun

a paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification.

 

professional,adjective

1.relating to or belonging to a profession.

"young professional people"

 

worthy of or appropriate to a professional person; competent, skilful, or assured.

"his professional expertise"

synonyms: expert, accomplished, skilful, adept, masterly, masterful, excellent, fine, polished, finished, skilled, proficient, competent, capable, able, efficient, experienced, practised, trained, seasoned, slick, businesslike, deft, dexterous; More

antonyms: amateurish, incompetent, inept

2. engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as an amateur.