The Assessment of Professional Competence (APC)

Hilary LushSenior Membership Advisor, RTPI

Assessment of Professional Competence

•Assesses the professional competence of the Licentiate, as a spatial planner, after a two year period of reflective learning.

•Need to demonstrate that they work at the suitable professional level to justify election to Chartered status. •Sets a high standard.

What is assessed?

• Written Submission - Practical Experience Statement (PES) - Professional Competence Statement (PCS) - Professional Development Plan (PDP) • General Presentation

(Log book – submitted but not formally assessed)

Assessed by your peers – two Chartered Members

Practical Experience Statement

Has the Licentiate undertaken sufficient relevant practical experience to justify election to Chartered status?

Covers the practice content and planning tasks that have been undertaken over the period of practical experience

Includes:

•The type of employer•Description of role•The type of planning work

Professional Competence Statement

Assessed against the following criteria:

1. An understanding of context2. An ability to identify and analyse issues3. Competence in gathering appropriate information4. Competence in identifying and evaluating a course of action5. Competence in initiating action to implement a course of action or

dissemination and application of knowledge (academic research)6. Engagement in a process of reflection and review7. Knowledge and experience of:

a) Legal frameworkb) Ethical challengesc) Political framework d) and RTPI Code of Conduct

Professional Development Plan

• SWOT analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

• PDP details goals for personal professional development and an action plan for achieving those goals

Also…

• Enhanced PDP guidance including checklist now available!

• PDP support phase to help candidates

• Use the PDP template (RTPI website).• SWOT must feed into PDP

Actions (2-3) - SMART activities that will help you achieve objectives

Goal (1-3) - long term overarching statement

Objectives (2-4) - sub-goals that will help you achieve main goal

The S.M.A.R.T. Model

SMART MODEL MUST BE USED

• Specific: Precise about what you want to achieve

• Measurable: How will you know if you have achieved the objective?

• Achievable: Be realistic!

• Relevant: Objectives should relate to your personal or professional development

• Time based: Set a time frame in which the objectives are to be reached

General Presentation

MRTPI is a professional qualification and the Institute expects the submission to be completed to a high professional standard.

• Proof reading essential.• Check for grammatical and spelling errors.• Paragraph numbers.• Referencing & footnotes.• Word count is 4,500 – 5,500 words.• Learning difficulties – speak with the Membership Team in confidence.

Allow enough time for proof reading and general checking!

What is the log book?• The log book is a means of capturing your experience as it happens.

• Your log book must be kept for a minimum of 12 months full time spatial planning experience as a Licentiate member. An effective and strong logbook will, however, cover the whole Licentiate period.

• Reference relevant log book entries in the written submission – link both if you want the assessor to read a specific entry.

Date Nature of Professional Work/Task Undertaken

What skills/competencies

has this work developed?

What knowledge and/or understanding has been gained/developed as a

result of this work?

What skills/knowledge do you feel you need to

develop?

Log book

Upcoming changes to the APC(applicable from deadline 5 November 2015)

• One consolidated guidance document to be released at the end of March.

• More information on how to demonstrate criteria/competency.

• New APC competency.

• Increased word limit.

Experience

Experience can be:

•Full or part time or a combination of both (pro rata).

•Paid or voluntary.

•Gained in the UK or overseas.

•Spread over a period of time longer than two years. The 24 months does not need to be consecutive.

Experience

•Experience should be detailed in consecutive blocks of 3 months or more.

•Not allowed to count any experience gained whilst registered as a student on an intensive one year masters degree. The Licentiate can only start counting their experience as eligible after successful completion of this type of degree.

•Full and part time experience gained alongside a part time degree is acceptable.

•Experience gained whilst on a sandwich year or vacation placement may also be counted.

The Mentoring Relationship

• Important part of the APC.

• Mentor is not like a line manager – best if slightly removed.

• Challenges candidate to encourage reflection and analytical thinking.

• Must be familiar with the competencies and guidance.

• Use their knowledge to guide candidate.

• Should offer positive critique of the application.

• Confidential relationship.

Tips for a successful application:

1.Read the guidance.2.Hold the relevant level and amount of experience.3.Demonstrate ALL the assessment criteria.4.Focus on PDP.5.Use the resources available to you.6.Select your case studies carefully.7.Be critical.8.Reference the submission to the logbook.9.Proof read and check your submission.10.Start early.

The Membership Team

Martine Koch Head of MembershipHilary Lush Senior Membership AdvisorJenny Tyler Senior Membership AdvisorRobin Bates Professional Development and Membership OfficerQuentin Wood Membership OfficerDiana Tudureanu PSD Administrator

Phone: +44 (0)20 7929 9494

Email: membership@rtpi.org.ukWebsite: www.rtpi.org.uk

You can find various RTPI groups and contacts on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Thank You!