You need to provide a statement outlining your employed or voluntary roles and say how your current role demonstrates the four areas of the competence matrix – see below. It is the most important part of your application as it tells the Validation committee how your skills and experience demonstrate the criteria and helps them reach a decision.
You can use the Statement of competence template below to write your text and upload this to the online form, or write directly into the boxes in the online form.
Please note that incomplete new applications online cannot be saved and returned to so it may be easier to complete the statement template and upload this to the online form.
For further information on how the competence categories apply in specialist areas of practice, please see our supporting specialist competence matrices. You can use these alongside the main competence matrix to see how your work fits into the criteria and to help you write your statement of competence.
If you have recently graduated with a CIfA accredited degree you need to apply in the same way and write your statement using the accredited degree matrix and guidance.
Employed or voluntary roles
Please give detailed information about your role and responsibilities for your current and most recent roles over the last two years. Use each heading of the competence matrix (below) as a guide. You need to explain how you demonstrate the four areas – knowledge, autonomy, coping with complexity and perception of professional context – giving specific work examples.
You can find some example statements in the 'Templates and further guidance' section below.
For any roles you’ve undertaken more than two years ago, please give a brief description of the responsibilities held, including any career breaks where relevant.
Writing your statement
You can approach your statement of competence in different ways, but we recommend that you use the four areas of the competence matrix as headings, write something for each and describe a specific example of where you applied this in your role.
Competence matrix for Practitioner (PCIfA)
| Knowledge | Good working knowledge of key aspects relevant to area of historic environment practice, and competence in its application, in accordance with relevant professional standards. |
What you need to demonstrate | 1) Demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of archaeology and the historic environment relevant to your area of historic environment practice. Give examples which show how you apply that knowledge and understanding in your work and how you keep that knowledge up to date; describe the work that you do/have done and the knowledge and understanding of the historic environment that underpins it. Use the professional and technical language that you know and use in your role.
2) Demonstrate your understanding of professional standards and the industry processes and procedures relevant to your work and describe how you have applied them. |
| Autonomy | Some responsibility for achieving tasks using own judgement and autonomy, whilst working under general supervision. Collaboration with others is expected. |
| What you need to demonstrate | - Describe how you take responsibility for your own work.
- Explain how you ensure that your work meets professional standards and the expectations of your employer. Describe or give an example of how you judge when it’s appropriate for you to make a decision and when to consult with others.
- Demonstrate that you understand your role within the wider team in your organisation (if this is applicable to your role).
- Explain how the work you do relates to other people in your team. Who looks to you for help and who do you report to?
- Demonstrate your communication skills and your understanding of the importance of teamwork.
- Give examples of the skills you need to work with others. Why is good communication important, and what happens if it breaks down? How have you contributed as a team member and/or how have you tried to resolve differences of opinion?
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| Coping with complexity | Appreciates complex situations within the role held and able to achieve partial resolution alone. Some activities are complex and non-routine. |
| What you need to demonstrate | - Demonstrate how you solve problems relating to your work
- Give examples of effective problem solving you have undertaken. Describe a situation where you had to carry out a particular type of work for the first time, or where you encountered an unexpected discovery, result or scenario.
- Describe the frameworks or tools you used to identify the issues and achieve a resolution.
- Give examples to show what steps you took to ensure you were able to proceed. Who did you consult? Were there particular challenges to overcome? How would you recognise that a situation is beyond your skillset and where might you go for help? How did you find out what the best approach might be?
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| Perception of professional context | Sees actions as a series of steps and recognises the importance of each role in the team. Demonstrates understanding of the ethical requirements of the Code of conduct and can apply to own work. Upholds the values of the Institute to work in the public interest. |
| What you need to demonstrate | - Demonstrate that you apply the professional codes underpinning your work and how this guides your practice.
- Give examples of the organisational codes or good practice documentation you refer to. How do they ensure you work to the appropriate professional standard? How does the CIfA Code of conduct guide your practice?
- Demonstrate that you are aware of the implications of your work within the wider team, your organisation or the historic environment sector as a whole.
- Give examples of the key organisations you come into contact with and what they do. Who does your organisation answer to and who are its stakeholders? Who benefits from its work?
- Demonstrate your contribution to effective public benefit within the context of your role.
- Give examples of how you have helped other people access information about the historic environment and/or shared your own knowledge and understanding with them. You could also give examples where you have engaged with individuals or communities or contributed to the future management, conservation or interpretation of a heritage asset.
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Qualifications (where relevant)
Please list any relevant qualifications, including title, institution and month of completion and a brief outline of the areas covered.
If you work in academia, please provide a more detailed outline of your qualifications.
If you do not hold any qualifications, you are still eligible to apply.
Additional relevant information
Please include any additional information that may be useful for the Validation committee to take into consideration when assessing your application. For example
- any additional volunteer work in the sector
- any societies or organisations you are involved with, including volunteering for CIfA
- if your experience has been gained outside the UK, please include some background information about how the profession operates in that country and how your role fits within the profession
You can upload a job description or CV to the online form, but you must still include a statement of competence (above).
List of projects/publications/grey literature (where relevant)
Please list any relevant projects, publications or grey literature from your work in the last two years. Where work is co-authored or the authors are not defined, please indicate which part(s) you were responsible for.
If you do not have any publications, you are still eligible to apply.
