The Chartered Quality Institute is introducing a new Practitioner (PCQI) grade of membership. The Practitioner grade will provide a new opportunity for those involved in quality to enhance their status and gain professional recognition for their skills.
The CQI Practitioner grade has been developed to recognize quality professionals who specialize in certain quality disciplines, such as process improvement and auditing, or those that combine quality with other responsibilities. It also provides a stepping stone to advance from Associate to Member, CQP.
Simon Feary, the CQI’s Chief Executive, says: ‘Chartered Membership of the CQI has been established as the gold standard for professionalism in quality, but we recognize that many people making an impact in quality operate below the chartered level as specialists in certain areas of quality, or as those that generalize in quality as part of a wider remit. The new Practitioner grade allows us to recognise these people’s professionalism, their impact in the workplace and to support their ongoing professional development.’
An employer involved in consultations, Gary J Illingworth, FCQI CQP, SELEX Galileo’s Head of Quality, says: ‘The new CQI Practitioner Grade will help us achieve our goal of continuous improvement by supporting the progression of our staff, particularly Graduates and Apprentices, having completed their formal training and development programmes, and providing them with professional recognition as they continue their development. It provides our business and our customers with the reassurance that our Assurance employees are operating at a high standard.’
As with the CQI’s Member CQP and Fellow CQP grades, new Practitioner members will need to meet rigorous criteria, which have been defined through a process of consultation with the CQI’s Advisory Council, Stakeholder Board and volunteers, as well as employers. The requirements are:
- Learning - New Practitioners demonstrate their acquisition of knowledge in at least one aspect of quality. They may demonstrate this knowledge acquisition through evidence of successful completion of at least one unit of a CQI qualification (CQI Level 3 or Level 5), or successful completion of an IRCA Certified Lead Auditor course.
- Experience and Impact – New Practitioners demonstrate that they have a minimum of two years work experience through submission of a CV, and that they have successfully applied their knowledge in a work context through submission of a Practitioner Portfolio Form.
Those eligible for the new Practitioner grade will be able to use the post nominal letters PCQI after their name, indicating to current and potential future employers that they have the skills and experience to contribute to quality.
For more details on the Practitioner grade or for an application form please contact membership@thecqi.org or visit the website www.thecqi.org/Membership/Become-a-member/