What are the National Professional Recognition Awards for Leadership?
The National Professional Recognition Awards for Leadership are regulated qualifications that provide a vocational route to higher-level professional recognition and are:
Comprehensive
The NPRAs are offered in commercial and professional fields. There is no practical limitation to the range of work-related environments, including paid and unpaid roles (eg volunteering), to which they may be related.
Progressive
There is a clear line of progression from Level 4 to Level 7 through the standards.
Accessible
The NPRAs are open to any learner who meets the requirements and the standards.
Competence-based
The awards recognise the practical application of professional skills, knowledge and understanding, and offer a work-related route to higher-level qualifications.
They don’t involve new learning and you won’t have to attend a course. You must demonstrate to City & Guilds that you have sufficient experience in leadership and management to justify your award.
A PRA could help you progress more quickly in your career!
PRA APPLICATION FORM
4 Levels of Award
There are four levels of award:
- Licentiateship (LCGI) Level 4
- Affiliateship (AfCGI) Level 5
- Graduateship (GCGI) Level 6
- Membership (MCGI) Level 7
National Professional Recognition Middle Leadership (L4 & L5)
Professional Recognition Award PLUS City & Guilds Post-nominal Certification –
Level 4 Licentiateship (Leadership and Management) (LCGI)
At this level you would typically:
- have responsibility for managing your day-to-day activities
- lead or work collaboratively on a project or multiple projects
- manage resources in your area of responsibility
- work with others to build and maintain good working relationships
- foster and maintain good stakeholder relationships – identify and access opportunities for professional development – be able to apply professional standards in your area of responsibility
- communicate effectively and manage information in line with organisational and legal requirements
- consistently meet aims and objectives
- exercise autonomy and judgement in work role
- consider the views and perspectives of others in decision making
- address problems that are well-defined but non-routine
Level 5 Affiliateship (Leadership and Management) (AfCGI)
To achieve this level – you would typically:
- have line management responsibilities
- anticipate, plan and lead change
- manage resources
- work with others to develop and maintain good working relationships
- set direction and inspire others to work together to achieve challenging outcomes
- generate creative ideas to inform best practices and continual improvement
- monitor compliance with professional standards
- implement an effective communication strategy
- build and maintain good stakeholder relationships to support the stakeholder-focused culture of the organisation
- analyse, identify and access professional development
- address problems that are well-defined but complex and non-routine
- exercise autonomy and judgement in decision making which takes into account the views and perspectives of others
Assessment
To achieve a Professional Recognition Award you must provide a concise portfolio of work and evidence demonstrating your competency for each standard. A piece of evidence may be used to cover more than one of the standards. Therefore, the standards can be met collectively and holistically, rather than one by one.
Standards
- Commitment to Professional Standards
- Communication and Information Management
- Leadership
- Professional Development
- Working with Others
- Managing Stakeholder Relationships
For each standard, there is a set of statements against which you must demonstrate your competency.
To meet the standard you will be required to provide evidence that you can:
- analyse the professional standards which apply in your area of responsibility
- apply professional standards to your working practice
- support others to comply with professional standards
The Evidence
To qualify for your PRA, you must submit a portfolio of work and evidence OR evidence of a project.
For example, you may have managed a project within your workplace, such as leading a programme of significant change. Evidence provided by the project should:
- enable you to demonstrate in part how you were able to use effective leadership skills (Standard 3)
- work with others to drive change (Standard 5)
- communicate effectively and use information management (Standard 2)
- manage stakeholder relations throughout the change (Standard 6)
- work in accord with professional standards such as legislation, policies and procedures for health, safety and security in addition to organisational policy and procedure (Standard 1)
- reflect on the experience of managing a significant programme of change and use this as a platform to inform your professional development (Standard 4)
As a learner, it is your responsibility to explain or demonstrate how the work and evidence you present prove your competence and meet the requirements of each standard.
The Reflective Account
At the core of the portfolio is a reflective account.
A reflective account goes beyond description; it should evaluate personal performance and identify areas for further development. It must address each of the competency statements within each of the six standards, focussing on the verbs contained in the standard statements.
Alternative evidence could be …
A work-related project report such as an account of how a programme of significant change was managed or other work-related management activity can be a primary source of evidence for the Professional Recognition Awards.
A work-related project can be presented in two ways:
- A project report with objectives, scope, methodology and outcomes, including appendices and illustrations if required.
- A reflective account explaining what the learner did when carrying out the project
PRA APPLICATION FORM
National Professional Recognition Senior Leadership (L6&L7)
A level 6 National Professional Recognition Award (Graduateship) candidate would typically:
- have senior management responsibilities
- take responsibility for achieving organisational objectives
- take responsibility for managing a programme of substantial change or development
- identify and manage resources to meet organisational objectives
- take responsibility for motivating, delegating and empowering others
- promote innovation and generate ideas for improvement
- take responsibility for promoting, monitoring and maintaining compliance with professional standards
- establish, lead and maintain effective communication
- build and implement standards for customer service
- evaluate the impact of professional development on self and the organisation
- address problems that are complex and non-routine
- use autonomy to make judgements, demonstrating an ability to understand different perspectives, approaches and schools of thought
A Level 7 National Professional Recognition Award ( Membership) the candidate would typically:
- have strategic leadership responsibilities
- articulate a vision for the future of the organisation or own area of responsibility
- take responsibility for leading the organisation or own area of responsibility through complex change
- have an in-depth understanding of resources and manage them to meet organisational objectives
- establish a culture of mutual support and cohesion which values the contribution of others and recognises success
- promote innovation and generate ideas for improvement
- establish an environment and culture that assures and promotes compliance with professional standards*
- create a communication strategy for the organisation or own area of responsibility
- represent the organisation by communicating on important and sensitive matters while establishing robust methods for managing information effectively
- Establish a strategy that puts the customer at the centre of the organisation or own area of responsibility
- champion professional development within the organisation
Assessment
To achieve a Professional Recognition Award you must provide a concise portfolio of work and evidence which demonstrates your competency for each standard.
Standards
- Commitment to Professional Standards
- Communication and Information Management
- Leadership
- Professional Development
- Working with Others
- Managing Stakeholder Participation and Expectation
For each standard, there is a set of statements through which you are required to demonstrate your competency.
Just as at Levels 4 and 5, you would be required to submit a portfolio of work as evidence. For details, see earlier sections on The Portfolio and The Reflective Account.
Support
Throughout your PRA journey, you will be fully supported by your employer, who will help identify your goals, and by the team at Aspirations Learning Institute.
You can expect an initial assessment to identify:
- any support requirements you may have
- guidance you may need when working towards the award
- any recognised prior learning or evidence which may be used as evidence towards the award
- the appropriate level of the award
Support materials include a Qualification Handbook, and online resources via the Aspirations Learning Institute website.
Off-the-Job Training Time
Over the course of one term, you are expected to dedicate time to studying, reflecting, and gathering evidence.
Below is an estimate of the total time required for each Award:
- L4 Guided learning time 22h, total qualification time 55h
- L5 Guided learning time 20h, total qualification time 39h
- L6 Guided learning time 18h, total qualification time 32h
- L7 Guided learning time 16h, total qualification time 30h
Costs
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