Qualifications

Page owner: Professional standards director

What was accreditation?

It was a professional qualification awarded to members who passed the accreditation test. It proved you had achieved a high standard of skill and for that reason was best suited to those who already had professional experience. Accreditation was available in proofreading.

Accreditation automatically conferred Advanced Professional Membership and, as a qualification valued by clients, could bring you many business enquiries. The editorial manager, government/private-sector publishing agency said of it: 'Since the SfEP introduced accreditation, I no longer feel the need to ask Accredited Members to complete a test.'

The accreditation test curriculum was linked to training courses run by both SfEP and the Publishing Training Centre (PTC). It also dovetailed with the relevant sections of the National Occupational Standards for Publishing (see http://www.ukstandards.org.uk/PublishedNos/SKSPUB19.pdf and http://www.ukstandards.org.uk/PublishedNos/SKSPUB20.pdf on the National Occupational Standards website).

This route to Advanced Professional Membership is no longer available.

What was registration?

It was a qualification for which you needed accreditation plus 500 hours of experience spread among two or more clients within the past three years. It showed that your competence and reliability had been assessed and endorsed by clients and/or employers. Registration was available in proofreading.

Before 2002, accreditation did not exist and there was a different (refereed) route to becoming Registered.

This route to Advanced Professional Membership is no longer available.