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Library assistants were originally considered to be professional librarians in the making, and were trained accordingly. With the expansion of libraries and librarianship, Britain's “apprenticeship” system of qualification gave way to formal library school education, and a new category of “non‐professional staff” was created, of people who were unwilling or unable to proceed to graduate‐level qualification. The development of non‐professional certificates of competence in the UK is described against parallel developments in the US, Canada and Australia; the COMLA training modules are also examined. The theoretical and practical issues surrounding training are discussed, training schemes and qualifications in the four countries analysed, and the relative merits of in‐house training and external certificate programmes argued.

In 2017 the UK Government decided that the suite of National Professional Qualifications (National Professional Qualifications for Middle Leadership, National Professional Qualifications for Senior Leadership and National Professional Qualifications for Headship) needs to be updated in order to ensure they remained relevant to the changing shape of the educational landscape, particularly through the expansion of multi-academy trusts (MATs). At the same time, the Government proposed a new National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership aimed at the CEOs of MATs. The purpose of this paper is to explore the way in which the new National Professional Qualification (NPQ) programmes are having master’s level criteria embedded into them to facilitate a seamless progression into the master’s level study.

The paper combines desk research with reflections on the experience of developing the new NPQ programme within higher education institutions (HEIs) and considers the implications of this upon current and emerging HEI practice and research into educational leadership.

There were a number of key issues highlighted by the paper. Notably, the process of embedding academic criteria into a training programme, which was not used to support the notion of critical reflection. Also, the associated mechanisms of accreditation, existing professional networks and the upskilling of staff delivering the NPQ programme, and a professionally oriented interface between the university, employer and deliverer of the training.

This paper provides an original perspective involving the embedding of master’s level criteria into professional qualifications in the field of educational leadership.

This study examines the factors that explain Ghanaian business students’ intentions to pursue a Certified Professional Accounting (CPA) qualification.

The study uses survey method of research and mainly used questionnaires as data collection instrument to elicit information from the respondent group. Using a total of 641 business students from the University of Ghana Business School, a mixture of factor analysis and logistic regression analysis techniques was used in investigating the study objectives.

Results from the regression analysis demonstrate that students’ preference and beliefs about accounting professional qualification, academic major and grade point average are significantly associated with their intentions to pursue a CPA qualification. Moreover, majority of the sampled respondents (47.9 per cent) with the desire to pursue a CPA qualification prefer to be affiliated with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, 27.2 per cent prefer the Institute of Charted Accountant Ghana qualification, while only 7 per cent of the students prefer to be affiliated with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountant.

The findings from this study have important implications for the various professional accountancy bodies, accounting educators and other stakeholders interested in promoting the choice of accounting as a career path among university students.

The results indicate that, as part of the broader strategy to increase the number of professional accountants in Ghana, there is the need to promote the study of accounting at the undergraduate level in the various universities in the country.

This study uniquely uses the behavioral decision theory to explain the dominant factors associated with students’ intentions to pursue a CPA qualification.

In the light of Europe’s experience of its Directive on mutual recognition of professional qualifications and the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) intention to achieve a global marketplace for professional services by identifying “disciplines” which can be applied to all professions, this paper considers a potential methodology for achieving a global system for the free movement of professionals. The paper explains the process of mutual recognition as implemented within the European Union and discusses the approach which the WTO is likely to adopt towards the globalisation of services. The problems which face the surveying profession (including the problem of identifying the various surveying professions which exist in different countries), the role of professional organisations, the nature of “professional competence” and the threshold standards applied to professional competence as a vital component of any mutual recognition process are also discussed.

The purpose of the chapter is to contribute to the discussion as to whether some sort of regulation of professional accountants is warranted, by analysing whether professional qualification of accountants affects the provision of accounting services.

A survey method is used. From a sample of 96 accountants providing accounting services in Slovenia, we estimate the structural equation model and measure competences, knowledge, service mix, customer loyalty and litigation risk.

We find that professional qualification is positively associated with competences. Competences, in turn, are positively associated with knowledge and wider service product mix, but not with customer loyalty and litigation risk.

The respondents are practicing accountants. Their self-evaluation of their knowledge should be treated with caution in terms of the absolute values of assessed knowledge as they are inevitably subjective. For other variables, more objective measures are used.

In the absence of accounting profession regulation, the quality of financial reporting may be particularly vulnerable in micro companies. Although answering the question of whether provision of accounting services should be subject to regulation is not straight-forward, the results of our study provide some guidance for regulatory decision making.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the benefits of reclaiming the idea of professional competence and challenges fragmented approaches to academic qualification and professional recognition. It is argued that academic programmes that are integrated with the requirements for professional recognition can resolve the potentially unhelpful differentiation between “theory” and “practice” and between “knowledge” and “competence”.

Three contextualised case studies are presented to demonstrate a range of possibilities for developing academic programmes that integrate professional competence in the fields of construction, aviation and management.

It is argued that the examples described provide some evidence that where competence is conceived of as a matter of open on-going professional development, it can be effectively integrated and aligned with the intended outcomes of academic qualifications. Furthermore, that the examples described demonstrate that the idea of professional competence can operate to ground knowledge in practice contexts and ensure that professional values are positioned as a requirement of being qualified.

The diversity of the examples provided across three distinct sectors illustrate the potential for wider curriculum development opportunities for higher education practitioners. The need to align professional body recognition with academic qualification for higher and degree apprenticeships may also indicate significant implications for policy in this area. The cases presented provide evidence that academic qualifications can be developed that are at the same time recognised by employers as delivering a professionally competent workforce. This kind of development activity can provide both an incentive for employers to pay for education and training and opening opportunities for career progression for those in work.

This paper aims to explore the following question: does the industry context influence management attitudes towards being a professional?

Previous research has identified traits that define a professional. Using this framework, the features of a profession are explored from the perspective of hotel financial controllers. Primary research is used to further explore attitudes towards the achievement of these traits.

The characteristics of this particular industry do appear to impact on attitudes towards professionalism, from the perspective of organizations and the professional association, in comparison to more traditional professions. Although the industry desires to become more professional, there is unwillingness to promote career development and other approaches for hotel controllers. Individuals, however, wish to meet the desired traits and hence improve their personal status and careers.

This research has examined only one type of manager in hotels, and various contradictions have emerged. Other managers in hotels may also demonstrate certain characteristics influenced by the industry context that could be further explored, and further attitudes towards professionalism in the industry investigated.

Hotel companies must demonstrate commitment to their managers by investing in their development to improve levels of professionalism and hence profits. Professional associations can assist by providing appropriate courses at various levels, with a consequent increase in their own status as well as that of the industry.

Most previous research has focused on the profession rather than the industry context. This research raises questions as to the dominance of a particular industry on attitudes and hence on standards.

This paper aims to describe the development and prospects of an Islamic finance professional programme structure (IFPPS).

This paper is conceptual in nature. It begins with a review of issues leading to the development of IFPPS by the Finance Accreditation Agency (FAA). The process of developing the IFPPS is then delineated, followed by discussions on its intended benefits, the challenges encountered, as well as ways the issues and challenges can be addressed.

The benefits of IFPPS to different stakeholders are highlighted, with consideration given to its strategic roles in addressing the issues and challenges put forth.

Because this paper focuses on the conceptual development of IFPPS, its actual application will further reinforce its value. The outcomes will be presented in the form of case studies in a subsequent publication to contribute to theory and practice.

Having a knowledgeable and skilled workforce through continuous learning and development is key to sustaining the growth of the Islamic financial services industry (IFSI). One possible way is through the adoption of a unified structure, such as the IFPPS which links quality learning to competencies of IFSI practitioners. In addition, the IFPPS possess characteristics which could potentially serve to facilitate the development of sectorial-based national qualifications framework for Islamic finance, making harmonisation in terms of the design, development, delivery and assessment of different learning programmes and qualifications possible.

A uniformed structure that guides learning and development of practitioner-based Islamic finance programmes is long overdue. With the rapid growth of the IFSI, coupled with the concomitant need for a competent workforce to meet business requirements, the time has come for the development of the IFPPS for the IFSI. The development of IFPPS represents the first of its kind for the IFSI. Once the professional qualifications standards are fully developed and implemented, it is expected to bring enormous benefits to different stakeholders involved in Islamic finance learning and practice.

I approach this work in the knowledge that the recruitment and selection of staff is one of the most neglected areas of library management. I have been unable to trace any monograph devoted to the subject published during the past 10 years and few general books on library management spare more than a cursory glance in its direction.