Brian W. Pascal President

Recertification is a standard practice for all certifying and accreditation bodies and is designed to ensure that the practices and standards of a profession or designation are maintained by individuals. Our objective for recertification at IPM will be to ensure that individuals who have been certified by our professional associations continue to participate in ongoing professional development activities and education, not just to maintain their status but continue to be updated and grow within their profession.

In designing our process,
we consulted with other organizations and researched how they have implemented their own recertification processes. Most we have found use a point system that requires individuals to obtain a certain number of points during a certain period
of time, often three years.

They allow professionals to accumulate these points through a variety of activities that could include ongoing education, leadership activities, instructional activities, research or publication in their field or completion of significant work projects in their area of expertise.

Individuals can usually choose their activities within a wide framework of options approved by the association and can plan a recertification process for themselves that meets their needs and their schedule. This process over a three year cycle ensures that certified members continue to practice and update their skills and are also exposed to new ideas,
new thinking and new strategies in their field. They not only maintain their status as active participants in their field, but can remain current with any changes in their business or
the legislation governing
their professions.

That is how other organizations and associations like the HR associations across the country operate and many of you across Canada are already familiar with these processes. For IPM Associations, we want to look at a looser and simpler form of process that is built on the basic elements of these processes. We are thinking about a points system built around a three year cycle.
While we will grant some points to our own sponsored events, we are cognizant of the fact
that IPM members are spread out all over the country and attend PD events where IPM does not have an active chapter.

In addition to this, we are likely going to propose that since all IPM’s programs are self-study, we will consider assigning higher points to individuals who take another IPM program to stay on top of current and developing issues. Those who complete all three IPM accreditation programs would qualify for the highest points and those who complete outside programs, attend events and volunteer for any HR or management initiatives would also receive credit or points.

As I mentioned, this is just our thinking on this subject and we want to hear from you before moving ahead on any recertification process. It is an important part of a mature and responsible accreditation body. We would like to not only implement a policy, but have a policy that works for you and your busy schedule. Please drop us a line at info@workplace.ca with your ideas and suggestions on this important issue.