The Climbing Company

The following is a repost of this article on the ACIA website: https://acia.com.au/continued-professional-development-and-current-competence/

Ongoing professional development and having processes to ensure genuine current competence are really critical to ensuring that qualification schemes and qualifications remain credible and help guides/ instructors to ensure that they are retaining and improving competence throughout the years.

In the climbing world this is especially important as there is constant change and development within equipment and systems, and as I am sure everyone is well aware there are many ways of doing things, some of which can be appropriate in some contexts but maybe not others.

In order to ensure a reliable and genuine process of Professional Development and current competence the ACIA is instigating a practical revalidation / currency requirement for all qualification levels as outlined below. In doing this it brings us more into line with Professional industry expectations and good practice processes on an international level.

Practical revalidation / currency requirement

On a three yearly cycle – for members to be considered as (and listed on the website as) “current” They need to have in the last three years,

Attended a higher-level training or assessment course

Or

Attended a full days’ worth of ACIA PD training / Workshops (full day, two half days)

Or

Attended an alternative higher-level training / assessment/ PD workshop provided through other international climbing guiding / instructor associations.

ACIA PD training days are programmed during the year at various locations, workshops will coincide with the AGM / conference also. ACIA training and assessment courses are programmed and run in a number of states throughout each year, so there are definitely opportunities available to get on a training days, workshop or higher-level courses to ensure you meet the requirements.

For those who currently hold ACIA qualifications, this means that before 2028 they will need to attend some form of practical professional development or further training / assessment. Start planning and considering which way will suit you best to ensure you meet the requirements and maintain genuine currency.

This session will be run "bespoke" for the attending guides. Together we will coordinate (likely through WhatsApp) and figure out a plan for the day and get everyone to contribute what they'd like to get out of the day. I expect a healthy mix of skills from all participants, and to give due credit to those guides who are innovative and able to come up with novel solutions for interesting problems and to help ALL guides to become better as a result.

To join this course you need to have an ACIA guiding qualification already (any level) and be a current member of the ACIA.