22nd February 2014, 05:36 PM
A closed shop may well be the end result of this chartered business, after all, the IfA seem only to really want the major players to join their exclusive members club and pretend archaeologists with an NVQ and six months experience!
I'd happily become chartered if the IfA allowed me to, but with over twenty years experience in the field, the ability to run/write up large projects, adequate up to date training, glowing references and the ability to run my own fairly successful archaeological practice dealing with archaeology/planning issues on a dayly basis means that the IfA believe I can only achieve PIFA level and certainly not anything higher, so you see, they will never allow me to put my company in as an RO, let alone chartered.
My business loses many contracts each year as some clients are currently under the illusion that if you are not in the IfA club then you are neither trained or qualified, once the whole chartered things becomes a reality then planning archaeologists will be telling developers they must use a chartered company, after all they already tell them they should use RO's, the end result could mean more out of work archaeologists and the smaller non RO companies closing down? There's nothing on the IfA website about that scenario is there?
So, maybe some of you out there, the ones who have been in the business for a very short amount of time and who don't really on this profession to pay their mortgages etc and who think it's 'a jolly wheeze' being an archaeologist shouldn't be so quick to bang on about how marvelous the dear old IfA Club is.
I'd happily become chartered if the IfA allowed me to, but with over twenty years experience in the field, the ability to run/write up large projects, adequate up to date training, glowing references and the ability to run my own fairly successful archaeological practice dealing with archaeology/planning issues on a dayly basis means that the IfA believe I can only achieve PIFA level and certainly not anything higher, so you see, they will never allow me to put my company in as an RO, let alone chartered.
My business loses many contracts each year as some clients are currently under the illusion that if you are not in the IfA club then you are neither trained or qualified, once the whole chartered things becomes a reality then planning archaeologists will be telling developers they must use a chartered company, after all they already tell them they should use RO's, the end result could mean more out of work archaeologists and the smaller non RO companies closing down? There's nothing on the IfA website about that scenario is there?
So, maybe some of you out there, the ones who have been in the business for a very short amount of time and who don't really on this profession to pay their mortgages etc and who think it's 'a jolly wheeze' being an archaeologist shouldn't be so quick to bang on about how marvelous the dear old IfA Club is.