Rules on professional development of AIIC Italia
Preamble
Conference interpreters have the duty to keep up with the ongoing developments of their working languages as well as enhance and update the theoretical, linguistic, technical and sectoral skills relevant to the sectors in which they work.
Art.1
Art.1
With a view to supporting its members in their endeavour to honour their obligation to attend ongoing training activities as laid down by law, AIIC Italia hereby establishes the Professional Development Committee (CSP-Commissione Sviluppo Professionale) as described in Article 15 of the Statutes of AIIC Italia and the relevant articles of the Internal Regulations of the Association.
- the PDC (Professional Development Committee) recognises the validity of training courses including those relating to theory or research, teacher training, the study of specific themes or terminology, the enhancement of technical and professional skills including communication, language enhancement, promotion and management of the profession, refresher courses on legislation and the use of new technology.
- The PDC shall fulfil its tasks and take its decisions by acting in a reasonable fashion on the basis of the criteria listed in these Rules and the provisions of the Code of Conduct of the Association. It reserves the right to consult members of the Association as well as non-Members with a view to obtaining the information necessary to ensure its tasks can be duly fulfilled.
- The PDC may call on correspondent members to ensure a better regional equilibrium and enhance the skills available to it.
- The PDC may, at its own initiative and where appropriate in cooperation with other sister professional associations, launch opinion surveys to identify the specific training requirements of conference interpreters working on the Italian and international markets.
Art. 2 The tasks of the PDC
The Professional Development Committee of AIIC Italia
a) informs, proposes and organises training activities;
b) approves the activities proposed by members;
c) oversees the training activities of members;
d) collects the attendance certificates;
e) calls on members to honour their training obligations;
f) notifies the Executive Board (Consiglio Direttivo) of cases in which these training obligations are not met;
g) submits an annual activity report to the Assembly.
The opinion of the PDC cannot be appealed.
Art.2.1 Number of days required
All members shall attend at least four days of compulsory professional development every two years and endeavour in so far as possible to include the languages of their language combination.
Art. 2.2 Equivalence Criteria
The equivalence criteria for training activities, events and courses which both the PDC and AIIC Italia members shall abide by are:
Meetings, seminars and courses:
- ½ day of training for a minimum of three hours;
- One day of training for a minimum of six hours;
- Group language courses: twelve hours correspond to one day of training
- Individual language courses: six hours correspond to one day of training
- Webinars, on line courses: one day of training must consist of at least six hours;
- courses, webinars, seminars, conferences lasting less than half a day: shall only be accepted if accompanied by a certificate of attendance indicating the number of accredited hours;
The applicant member must collect a number of attendance certificates sufficient to cover at least half a day and send them all together to the PDC. The PDC does not accept partial acknowledgements or incomplete applications.
Art. 2.3 Peer-to-peer training
AIIC Italia promotes peer-to-peer training and encourages those members who have specific skills to impart them to their colleagues by means of dedicated training activities. In these cases the PDC recognises to the training colleague the credits allocated to the course.
Art. 3 Forms and Types of Training Events
AIIC Italia will accept for accreditation:
a) professional development training courses and activities organised by the Association Internationale des Interprètes de Conférence (AIIC) or its Regions, in Italy and elsewhere;
b) training activities organised by the Professional Development Committee of AIIC Italia;
c) training activities offered by international and supranational organisations, in Italy and elsewhere;
d) training activities organised by members of AIIC or by groups/consortia thereof, in Italy and elsewhere;
e) training activities organised by other interpreter associations, in Italy and elsewhere;
f) training activities organised by universities, companies, other bodies or associations, in Italy and elsewhere;
g) Internet courses, webinars and network courses the content of which is relevant to the professional development of a conference interpreter.
Any course or training activity with a thematic focus which is of a repetitive nature, presenting the same material over again, will only be recognised once.
Art. 4 Procedure for the approval of training activities for professional development
1) With the exception of the initiatives described in points a) and b), members are required to indicate to the PDC dedicated email address the event they wish to attend or that they consider to be in line with the Association’s professional development interests at least 15 days before the start of the event in question, specifying the timetable, location, detailed syllabus or programme, registration procedure and procedure for obtaining a certificate of attendance.
2) The PDC will not download programmes or consult the relevant event websites: proposing members shall provide all the necessary material and submit it in time to the PDC, complete with the dates and type of event and making sure that the organisers of the training event in question issue a certificate of attendance.
3) The PDC examines the proposals sent by members and informs the proposing member of its decision. In the case of approval, the PDC will inform all members, rating the number of training days attributed to the event (1/2 day, 1 day or more than 1 day). Members shall send a copy in electronic format of the certificate of attendance, with the member’s name, the title of the event and the two-year reference period to the PDC, which will store the documentation in a dedicated computer archive. Anonymous files will not be accepted.
4) Members shall keep the originals of their proof of attendance.
5) Members shall submit to the PDC a short evaluation of the training events that they have attended.
6) Training days in excess cannot be accredited in the following two-year period.
7) Working days are never accredited as training days.
8) Language courses must be submitted for PDC approval by the proposing member before they are due to begin. If the course takes place over two two-year periods, the proposing member, even if the final certificate has not been issued, must submit to the PDC an intermediate certificate signed by the teacher or teachers.
9) The certificate of attendance at the events described in points a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h must be submitted to the Professional Development Committee by 31 December of each year.
10) The Professional Development Committee informs the Assembly of the data collected.
Art. 5 Sanctions
Any members who have not attended the required number of above-mentioned training days shall be subject to:
a) an informal reminder from the PDC;
b) a formal reminder from the Executive Board;
c) a temporary suspension of the certificate of professional qualification pursuant to Law No. 4 of 14 January 2013, until this requirement has been fulfilled.
d) the lodging of a complaint and referral to the AIIC disciplinary bodies.