The organisers of CiB’s internal communication accreditation programme have pledged to accelerate the launch date for the new advanced diploma. The move follows the success of the initial foundation-level programme, which opened in January this year.
More than 20 people are currently taking the foundation-level and organisers are currently negotiating for a potential 40 more for later this year.
“The foundation-level’s launch has been a clear success but, from all the anecdotal evidence, we know that the advanced level is what many people are waiting for,” said CiB education and accreditation director Steve Doswell.
“Initially we said we would make it available in 2010 but, in fact, we now expect to bring that forward to launch later this year.”
Doswell was speaking at the CiB national conference in Birmingham just minutes before handing over his official Association role to Sheila Parry.
“Getting the advanced level diploma right is hugely important – for CiB and for the wider internal communication profession. Aiming to launch it this year requires that we put more resources into the development work over the summer.
“It’s our education priority and we need to clear the decks to give it the time and attention it needs,” he said.
“Once the advanced diploma is launched, the next phase is to look at our offerings for experienced and senior managers and we expect these to be available from 2011.”
Latest thinking
Doswell unveiled the latest thinking, along with fellow accreditation programme organiser Steve Knight, at a personal development break-out session at the CiB flagship event.
They were joined by two people currently going through the accreditation foundation programme – RBS’s Tracy Thurgar and Tatiana Woolley from Nottingham Trent University – as well as programme mentors and members of the Association’s independent monitoring panel.
 Knight had three major announcements for the conference – including confirmation of the first overseas member to be taking the programme; the first agency candidate to be involved and also the appointment of three more experienced professionals to the independent monitoring panel.
“I’m excited to say that Pete Maginnis, CiB’s current Internal Communicator Of The Year and one of the most respected comms professionals in the country, is one of those who has agreed to join the panel,” he said.
Maginnis, head of corporate communications UK for Wolseley UK and Ireland, is joined on the panel by Katie Hadgraft, head of internal communication at Essex County Council and by Lyndsay Markham, who is director of the FEIEA Grand Prix – the annual competition for European business communicators.
“The pool of senior internal communications specialists has been recruited, not only to set the standards expected of people taking the accreditation programme, but also to ensure their work receives outside assessment from industry experts,” explained Knight.
“Our accreditation programme is tough and it is unique. Top people in the internal communications industry have high expectations and exacting standards and our practical testing approach, both within the workplace and through independent examination, means that people are going to have to prove not once, but several times, over a six-month period, that they are good enough to merit accreditation by CiB.
“Our programme has been produced from the ground up by people who are actually working in the industry day in and day out and it is sharp, relevant and bang up to date.”
The full list of people on the CiB accreditation programme independent monitoring panel includes:
- Jo Andrews professor of organisational communication at Birmingham City University;
- Nick Andrews, client services director Sequel, London;
- Louise Birkett, communication consultant, Derbyshire;
- Russell-Oliver Brooklands, managing partner, Communication Dynamics, Surrey;
- Phillip Brooks, communication consultant, Norwich;
- Tim Buckley, managing director, AB, London;
- Alison Crossley, managing director, Sequel, London;
- Nigel Curtis, managing director CW Corporate Communications, Worcestershire;
- Gavin Greig, internal communications consultant, Student Loans Company Ltd, West Lothian;
- Ian Grogan, internal communications manager, Ofsted, London;
- Terry Hegarty, head of communications intelligence, Lloyds TSB Bank UK Retail Banking, Bristol;
- Katie Hadgraft, head of internal communication, Essex County Council;
- Mark Hill, senior internal communication manager, AXA-Sunlife, Bristol;
- David Holmes, communication consultant, Middlesex;
- Richard Lomax, editorial director, Redhouse Lane, London;
- Declan Lyons, communication consultant, Dublin;
- Pete Maginnis, head of corporate communications UK, Wolseley UK and Ireland;
- Susan Mallinder, director of internal communications, HBOS, Edinburgh;
- Lyndsay Markham, communication consultant, Somerset;
- Andrew Rushton, assistant director of communications, Department of Work and Pensions, Lancashire;
- David Salter, head of internal communications, Royal Bank of Scotland, London;
- Trish Tweddle, internal communications manager, Anglian Water, Cambridgeshire;
- Phil Weare, manager central employee communications, Peugeot Citroen Automobiles UK Ltd, Coventry.
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