Quote:quote:There is an urgent need to improve pay and conditions for employment in field archaeology so that they are commensurate with graduate entry level in allied professions such as local authority planning officers, civil engineers and university lecturers. The IFA, working with English Heritage (EH) and the other national heritage agencies and Prospect, should create a structure for training and qualifications related to career development that will set standards for best practice in archaeological work, one in which employers are obliged to support the continuing professional development of staff. Only those contractors that meet these standards should be eligible to bid for developer-funded work. In the longer term, the current fragmented commercial unit system which has resulted from competitive tendering should be replaced with a more stable regional, or more local framework of archaeological organisations.