1. 13 September 2013 Christophe Billard 1 International recognition of professional qualifications International Forum of Meteorological Societies Third Global Meeting – Reading, UK – 12 & 13 September 2013

2. 13 September 2013 Christophe Billard 2 What could mean Recognition ? Several words are often used around these issues : Recognition doesn’t result of a simple presentation (biographic notice, letter of intent…). But it also encompasses those elements Recognition per se is not equivalent to validation (degrees, diploma, and possibly certification) and is not reduced to raw identification More modestly, Recognition basically appears as an appraisal based upon consideration of a situation according to pre-established criteria (compliance with requirements, consistency, methods, overall job-performance…) On the other hand, at a more legal level : Accreditation can be defined as a formal recognition of the competence and capacity of an institution to carry out specific activities Certification applied to individuals means an official recognition signifying that a person is qualified for independent work in a profession; this refers to “best practices” and sometimes to a code of conduct or other kinds of charter. Certification has to be periodically checked through assessment processes providing evidences that the individual has reached and continues to maintain a specified level of knowledge and experience

3. 13 September 2013 Christophe Billard 3 What concepts linked to Qualification ? Again, many words are generally present in the semantic vicinity : Qualification is a concept that is obviously related to training (content and results) and more widely to academic ou professional levels and classification of personnel in different categories (e.g. WMO scheme) According to international standard ISO 9000-2005 document, a Qualification process is aimed at demonstrating the ability (here, of a person) to fulfil specified requirements Therefore Qualification may also evoke Competence, which is held by ISO 9000-2005 as the “demonstrated ability to apply knowledge and skills” Specific features of the competence notion : Basically virtual : impossible to check immediately whether someone is competent or not ; but competence can be tracked since it makes it possible to undertake wise and judicious action in given professional contexts and situations ; and it is especially built through education/training and experience Being « competent » brings and implies the right (and the duty) of appraising and deciding in certain matters

4. 13 September 2013 Christophe Billard 4 European Meteorological Society action Former EMS Committee on Accreditation and Professional Practices concluded in 2008 that there is no unified position with regard to accreditation within Europe and the development of a Europe-wide framework, if relevant, will take time However, there remained a need and a desire to promote the development of professional guidelines and to enhance vocational training across Europe Consequently, the basic objective of the EMS Project Team on Professional Practices has been to deliver concrete outcomes related to professional practices which might be directly useful for the European meteorological community and possibly beyond Research was performed into the existence of accepted codes of conduct or ethical codes of behaviour of professional meteorologists in European, and other countries, with the idea of finding common characteristics

5. 13 September 2013 Christophe Billard 5 First example of shared approach : the EMS code of practice (2011) General purpose but particularly focused on communicating knowledge on climate change to the public Consists in guidelines for individuals of the meteorological community in Europe on how to communicate honestly and reliably, with the general public, including the media, on issues of meteorology and in particular on complex or controversial issues such as climate change Intended to be adopted or, if necessary, adapted by EMS Member organizations if it meets their requirement May be used as guidance for individuals in the European community to support their interaction with media and the public Set of principles and guidelines as core content : –Be aware that speaking as a scientist implies expectations of high standards regarding the exactitude of the information presented –Have a high level of scientific knowledge and experience and master scientific practices and methods –Draw the statements from well-established and unequivocal scientific practices, methods and tests, and avoid ‘cherry-picking’ and any misrepresentation of data –Provide information on the uncertainty of results and knowledge –Avoid providing too much or too little information, concentrate on the relevant issues, and be concise and clear –Ensure that the information is to the greatest possible degree openly available and then processed through transparent data and methods

6. 13 September 2013 Christophe Billard 6 Another example : the WMO standards for aeronautical meteorological personnel Annex 3 to the ICAO Convention on International Civil Aviation - Meteorological Service for International Air Navigation : “Each Contracting State shall ensure that the designated meteorological authority complies with the requirements of the World Meteorological Organization in respect of qualifications and training of meteorological personnel providing service for international air navigation” World Meteorological Congress (2011) approved the inclusion of competency standards for aeronautical meteorological personnel and the required learning outcomes of the basic instruction packages (BIP) for meteorologists and meteorological technicians into WMO technical regulations n° 49, Volume I. Concretely all providers of meteorological services to international air navigation shall be able to demonstrate that : –their aeronautical meteorological personnel satisfy the competency standards from 1 December 2013 (annex to resolution 53) –the qualifications of their aeronautical meteorological forecasters satisfy the basic instruction package for meteorologists requirements by 1 December 2016 Classification of personnel in meteorology : Meteorologists and Meteorological technicians, with reference to BIP scheme (resolution 32) Then, it is up to each aviation meteorological service provider, based on their national regulations and organizational procedures, to determine who can ensure that personnel are competent. It is important that the processes employed are fully integrated into an organization’s quality management system