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Membership & Benefits
MEMBERSHIP & BENEFITS
- Individual (Polar Pro) — for guides and prospective guides who would like to be affiliated with a professional industry association and gain certification and independent assessment of their skills – $100pa
- Assessor — for Senior Polar Guides who have attended an Assessor Training program and wish to work within an Accredited Provider company or as an independent assessor – $250pa (due to Covid and no assessing work this is reduced to $100 until further notice)
- Corporate — for expedition cruise companies who wish to become Accredited Providers and run ISO-compliant PTGA assessments within their company or onboard their vessels (enquire for cost)
BECOME A MEMBER
PTGA MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS
Individual membership is open to anyone who is, or wishes to become, an active polar guide. Membership gives access to the PTGA qualification system. Members must be committed to professionalism in guiding, the PTGA Code of Conduct and PTGA standards of performance.
A member can gain PQs (Polar Qualifications) by:
- Assessment run by a PTGA assessor. This may be held at the individual’s workplace, or through an external assessment provider.
- Through Cross-Accreditation of existing relevant qualifications.
Join here. Fill out the membership form, and you will be able to create a profile and pay your membership fee.
FEE
$100/year
BENEFITS
- RECOGNISED QUALIFICATIONS. PTGA qualifications are accepted as bonafide certificates by a significant number of expedition and polar cruise companies, with some companies paying higher rates for PTGA Certified Guides.
- ASSESSMENT. The guiding competency PTGA members can be assessed by PTGA’s performance-testing assesment process, a process that complies with International Standard ISO 21102.
- PROOF OF COMPETENCY. An external record of proof of minimum competency, experience and qualifications for all member guides. This is valuable for a guide to provide evidence of competency and experience to any employer, customer, insurance institute, governing body, coronial inquiry or other external agency
- CERTIFICATION & STATUS BADGES. A digital badge that shows your Certification and Guide Status, which may be used on personal websites, resumes, and email signatures.
- PROFESSIONALISM. Membership of the only international Professional Industry Association for polar guides.
- COMMUNITY. As a member of PTGA, you are part of a community of polar guiding professionals whose collective aims are safety, sustainability and professionalism, and from whom you can learn and continue to develop.
- NEWSLETTER. Access to the PTGA newsletter Brash Talk
- DEALS. Clothing and equipment for guides at a significant discount. PTGA members have access to an extensive number of members’ only pro deals that are provided by PTGA’s partner providers.
- LECTURES. Exclusive access to view the highly-acclaimed PTGA Inside Speaker series which features expertise from leaders in polar guiding.
- TRAINING. Access to the PTGA Virtual Learning Environment – our online training resources designed to expand your knowledge about topics important to guiding.
- GUIDES FOR GUIDES. Members have access to a range of useful guides that are specific to polar guiding.
- RESOURCES. Access to an extensive collection of resources, including guiding- and education-specific resources, plus apps and links that are relevant to the professional polar guide.
- UPDATES. Access to Members-only updates about the latest information, deals and opportunities.
- PROFILE. Your own PTGA Membership Pro-File where you can edit your membership and payment details.
- ASSESSOR TRAINING. Members who gain the relevant prerequisites may attend training to become an assessor.
- QUALIFICATION REVIEW. As a member you are able to provide input to the annual qualifications review, giving you influence over the qualifications process of which you are a part.
Join PTGA now to gain access to these benefits!
PTGA Assessors are individual members who will have attended a PTGA Assessor Training course (email us or keep an eye on Brash Talk for notifications of Assessor Training courses). Being a PTGA Assessor provides excellent opportunities in the polar tourism industry for a range of new and exciting roles within companies – you will be a sought after commodity.
FEE
$200
BENEFITS
- Certification of assessor training and development course.
- Assess against PTGA qualifications and issue PQs.
- Attend Assessor Online Training Forums.
- Training and teaching resources accessed in an ‘assessor only’ area of the website.
- Participation in Assessor Only information sharing and moderation discussions.
An Accredited Provider Company can run its own PTGA (ISO compliant) assessments using its own In-House Assessors (these would be staff who are already Senior Polar Guides who have completed the PTGA Assessor Training program). The Company pays an annual corporate fee to the PTGA and signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the PTGA for performance, compliance and moderation. Individual staff annual fees and administrative fees are either covered by the Company or by the individuals themselves depending on how the Company chooses to build their structure. The Company decides how much to compensate its different guide status levels and assessors. The PQs don’t cost anything to the Company except time. There is a bi-annual moderation process run by the PTGA as part of the MOU. This keeps the Accredited Provider status and ensures assessments are being run according to PTGA and ISO compliance.
Corporate Membership gives Companies, and individuals working for those companies, the most economic way to deal with Polar Qualification assessments.
FEE
BENEFITS
- Performance tested qualifications framework and testing to measure guides against a Professional Industry Association standard.
- Moderation of company training and assessment infrastructure to ensure PTGA and ISO:21102 compliance.
- PTGA endorsement of company training and assessment standards
- Promotion of company standards using PTGA membership and international compliance with our ISO rating.
- Stored and administered records of proof of tested minimum competency of registered staff to any external agency as required.
- Guide Certification and Status badges to show proof of tested competence.
- Access to PTGA online resources by company and staff.
- Ongoing support and training / assessment program consultation provided by PTGA.
- Representation: Ability to have a representative at the annual Qualifications Review Meeting (QRM) to monitor amendments and development of the Qualifications Framework.
- Cost saving: Lower liability insurance through proof of staff competence as measured by an ISO:21102 compliant external testing body.