8th November 2013, 01:37 PM
P Prentice Wrote:i'll make no bones about it - i want to see clear air between those that dabble and those that provide a professional service. currently even metal detectorist can call themselves archaeologists and con some old ladies into thinking that they can provide them with a service; anybody who once spent a summer on a training excavation can set up as a business and destroy the resource. i know of people without any credibility at all teaching courses and skanking their students. i know people who have set up local clubs and are busily destroying some important sites with the help of people that they have conned by calling themselves archaeologists. the term has no meaning at all but a great deal of currency. chartered archaeologists should unambiguously be able to do provide all these services and do them to agreed standards. why would you not think this was a good idea?
Yeah, thats my second mind...........'trade' needs to be restricted to those actually capable of doing the job.
And adhering to standards will make undercutting more difficult, so it follows trade should be restricted to those adhering to these standards.
But............how can this be enforced. In the rest of the world enforcement of adherence to standards seems to be largely 'self-certified' which in business terms translates to.....
A:do whatever makes most profit until you get caught,
B: When caught pay fine, say sorry, its not our fault
C: If first offence goto A
D: If repeat offence, change company name. goto A