Guidelines for Assessors
As a general rule, the Institute of Corrosion does not recommend specific companies, products, or individuals, except for our training operations, in which case all trainers and training providers must meet specific levels of competency (as per individual course requirements) and be certified accordingly. These are also people well known to our governing boards and council members. In terms of ICorr membership applications, it is the role of the Professional Assessment Committee (PAC) assessor to match the details supplied by the applicant—application form, CV, copies of qualifications, training, and referee reports—to the Institute Membership Regulations for the grade in question—identifying and listing the key attributes of the individual and any non-conformances relevant to the person’s application. It is essential that referees know the applicant in a professional capacity prior to endorsing their application and submitting it to HQ. If any Assessor is concerned at all about recommending an applicant for membership, then you are reminded to please list your particular concerns in Section 2 of the PAC Form – Part. 2. I refer this to the PAC Chairman for decision for the following reasons:
Ongoing Safeguards
Please note that in order to achieve a range of assessor feedback and to avoid delays in the processing of applications, the institute’s membership application form and supporting documents will normally be sent by ICorr HQ to several PAC assessors at the same time, i.e., there is always a further review after your own one, and it is very likely that somebody on the PAC assessment group will know the applicant. If that is not the case, our PAC chair (Paul Lambert) will usually call the individual concerned for some clarifications, especially if they are not residents of the UK.
Further, once the application has passed all these stages, it will be included in a final summary list to go to the Quarterly Council Meetings. This is circulated to all council members for comment, and they are free to notify any objections to membership at the grade requested. Overall, the institute processes are very rigorous, are designed to maintain high standards, and usually take 4-6 months altogether, according to the exact timing of the Council meetings.