Professional registration provides a clear indication of competency and access to valuable resources, explains Laurence Dawkins-Hall, with a shortened route for apprentice technicians and scientists.
Why become professionally registered? Professional registration provides postnominals (RSci, RSciTech) which demonstrate your professional competency and commitment to excellence in practice. It represents a quality standard recognised across the scientific professions, supporting your career progression and professional profile in conferences, publications and with clients, which in turn is valuable CPD.
I have written extensively in the past on the processes required for attaining professional registration with the Science Council via a standard application. This requires the collation of a portfolio of working evidence, testifying to the candidate’s proficiency or competency in the workplace, and detailing relevant working practices, such as technical aptitude and practice, planning, organisation and CPD.
The required competencies are divided into five principal categories which each subdivide into two to four sub-competencies. That means applicants must submit evidence in about 15 fields of 300 words, so a full application script can be approximately 5,000 words in length.
In contrast, applicants who have recently completed an eligible science-focused apprenticeship can use a more streamlined route. In many cases, applicants need only provide their apprenticeship certificate, a copy of their CV and submit a declaration relating to their continuing professional development.
So, what will Professional Registration bring to your armoury and what steps are required to achieve it?
Joining a licensed body
Professional registration is awarded by a licensed body in partnership with the Science Council. Applicants for registration must hold membership of the relevant licensed body (which can be applied for at the same time as professional registration).
Distinct from professional registration, membership of a licensed body conveys a range of professional benefits and advantages:
- A forum for networking with like-minded apprentices and other professionals working in your field.
- Annual conferences, providing the opportunity to attend, present or chair sessions with fellow professionals.
- Many licensed bodies such as the Royal Society of Chemistry and Royal Society of Biology offer apprentice-focused travel grants, prizes and training courses. Moreover, it is probably worth pointing out that if you are professionally registered you enhance your chances of successfully applying for these grants and benefits.
Professional registration
The register you join is dependent on the particular apprentice standard. In particular:
- Check on the Technical Pathways website if your apprenticeship is aligned to either Registered Science Technician (RSciTech) or Registered Scientist (RSci).
- If you have received your apprenticeship certificate in the last 24 months, you are eligible to apply for professional registration via a shortened route.
- For the small number of cases where the endpoint assessment does not automatically culminate in an apprenticeship certificate, it may be necessary to provide further evidence of experiential knowledge, skills and behaviours.
Apprentice routes to application
More than 30 science-focused Level 3/4/5/6 apprentice standards are aligned to either RSciTech or RSci.
This mean that the knowledge, skills and behaviours you have demonstrated as part of your apprenticeship’s endpoint assessment are taken into account, so you are only required to complete specific tasks as part of your application for professional registration.
Fully aligned apprenticeships
Many apprenticeships are ‘fully aligned’. Applicants only need to complete the following steps as part of their application:
- Up to date CV.
- Copy of Apprentice Certificate.
- Copy of requisite qualifications or completion of the equivalency field instead.
- Supporter statement.
Partially aligned apprenticeships
For some apprenticeship standards, the evidence generated by the endpoint assessment covers about 70% of the competence requirements for professional registration.
In these cases, applicants are required to provide some additional evidence in support of their application:
- Up to date CV.
- Copy of Apprentice Certificate.
- Copy of requisite qualifications or completion of the Equivalency field instead.
- Supporter Statement.
- In addition, the applicant must evidence workplace technical proficiency by completing competencies A1, A2 and A3.
For more information: Go to the apprenticeship section of the Science Council’s Technical Pathways website. Alternatively, if you are applying directly through a licenced body and not the OnLine Application Portal, e.g., the RSB or RSC, contact the respective licenced body directly for further guidance.
References:
- Competency descriptors: https://sciencecouncil.org/web/wp-content/ uploads/2021/01/Matrix-grid-ofcompetencies.pdf
- Mapped Apprentices: https://technicaleducation.sciencecouncil.org/summary-of-eligibleapprenticeships/
- Licenced Bodies: https://sciencecouncil.org/about-us/our-members-andlicensed- bodies/
- Science Council Mapped Apprentice standards: https://technicaleducation. sciencecouncil.org/apprentices/
- Science Council’s Technical Pathway website: https://technicaleducation. sciencecouncil.org/apprentices/
- Science Council on Line Application portal (CAP): https://sciencecouncil.org/ scientists-sciencetechnicians/applyfor-professionalregistration/
Picture (above):
Laurence Dawkins-Hall receives his Lab Award from Times science editor Tom Whipple (right) and Laboratory News publisher Sean Marshall (left). Source: David Weston, Post Photo Ltd
A lab technician with 35 years international experience, Laurence Dawkins-Hall has received multiple awards and fellowships, having mentored c3000 staff scientists and technician in HE, FE and industry for professional registration. In November, he won in the Outstanding Achievement category of the Lab Awards
