Introducing Initial Professional Development (IPD)

摘要

Following our previous articles on the proposed new membership structure, Hazel Harvey, head of professional affairs, introduces the concept of Initial Professional Development (IPD) - an established concept in many professional bodies but new to IOSH. Our current membership criteria, with the exception of entry to the Register of Safety Practitioners (RSP), all require the attainment of a qualification and demonstration of a specified number of years' experience in health and safety issues. Experience is very difficult to assess by anything other than subjective means, and is particularly hard when a person does not have full-time health and safety responsibilities, but may well have developed the skills to enable them to practise in a competent manner.