IMCA develops freelance competence e-portfolios

Published on 27 June 2018

An IMCA workgroup, initially formed of members of its Offshore Survey Division Management Committee, has developed an easy, cost-effective and measurable way to assess and verify the competence of freelance personnel agency workers and sub-contractors. The work has been developed in cooperation with IMCA’s Competence & Training Core Committee and is intended to be applicable to personnel involved in all technical disciplines in which the Association’s members operate.

The background to this development is that contractors are increasingly reliant on freelance personnel. The main tool used to assess their competence has been a curriculum vitae (CV, or résumé). This is not always satisfactory and the requirement for freelancers to demonstrate their skills and experiences is becoming increasingly common.

Clients, the oil and gas companies, are driving a change. They want to move away from CVs to the use of competence portfolios. Some contractors also require this as part of their quality assurance systems.

In general, people want to know that those who work alongside them are competent in their work. A competence portfolio would allow individuals to demonstrate to everyone’s satisfaction that they are able to carry out and perform required tasks to a given standard.

The Personnel Competence e-Portfolio created, based on IMCA’s existing competence framework, consists of an explanatory introduction with examples, FAQs, a customisable Excel spreadsheet, and four additional Word documents which can be used for Observation Records, Questioning Records, Witness Testimonies, and Candidate Testimonies.

The portfolio is intended to be a dynamic document used to record tasks showing the freelancer’s different competencies and therefore suitability for a role. The Competence Portfolio, to be rolled out initially in the offshore survey division, before being made available more widely, will provide assurance to the freelancer, the agency, the contractor and their client.

legacy.imca-int.com/eportfolio