A step-by-step guide
1. Assess yourself against our practitioner-level Professional Standards and make notes of how and where you meet these and where you’ll be able to provide evidence. These notes will form the basis of your diagnostic discussion at your PAC centre.
2. Contact your nearest PAC centre and set up a diagnostic discussion. This will help you decide if this is the right membership route for you and will determine which fields you need to cover as part of your assessment.
3. At your diagnostic discussion you’ll be assigned an adviser and you’ll need to complete an application form for CIPD membership. This will be sent, together with your CV, organisational charts, job descriptions and your diagnostic notes, to our Membership team who will make the final decision on whether you’re eligible to proceed. If successful, you’ll join us as a studying Affiliate and get immediate access to our member benefits and services.
4. Working with the support of your centre you’ll need to prepare work-based evidence to show how you’ve met our practitioner-level Professional Standards. You’ll also need to prepare a 7,000-word Management Report on a subject of your choice and provide evidence of your CPD. To assist you, most of our centres will offer you guidance through group workshops or personal tuition.
5. Once your centre is satisfied with your evidence, an assigned assessor will have a final interview with you to review and discuss your evidence.
6. Once the assessor and our Membership team are satisfied that you’ve met our practitioner-level Professional Standards you’ll be upgraded to Chartered Member (Chartered MCIPD).
Useful tip
You may find it helpful to compare notes with someone who has already gone through PAC. This will help you determine the type and level of information to include. Our local branch network is a good place to begin meeting like-minded professionals.
A time and place to suit you
You may find that your nearest centre is some distance away but in most cases your adviser and assessor will travel to meet you at a location convenient to you. Support sessions can be conducted on the phone or via email, which will be particular useful if you’re based overseas.
The length of the assessment will depend on you. It can be tailored to take into consideration the amount of evidence you may need to put together and the amount if time you have available. On average the assessment will usually take between six and eighteen months to complete. Your centre will agree a timeframe with you at the start of your assessment.
How much does it cost?
The cost of the assessment is not fixed by us and can vary from one centre to another. It can range from £2,500 to £5,000 for the full assessment. You’ll also need to pay us a registration fee for PAC and a subsidised membership fee (only payable if you’re currently not in membership). Please contact your nearest centre to find out more.
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