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This is a reminder
to all APC candidates and their
counsellors as regards the Interim
Assessment.
The Interim Assessment is a
mechanism to help the candidates
gauge the direction and adequacy of
their professional training. The
exercise is meaningful only when it
is ?current?. It must relate to the
training currently being undertaken
and not something in history.
It is stipulated in the Rules and
Guide that ?
?After 12 months comprising not less
than 240 working days of the
approved period of professional
training, the Log Book and the
completed sections of the Diary,
together with the Interim Assessment
Report and an Interim Summary of
Experience, should be submitted to
the counsellor for interim
assessment.?
The rule states that Interim
Assessment should be conducted after
12 months of the approved period of
professional training, i.e. it
cannot be conducted earlier than
month 13. When it is conducted in
month 13 as stipulated, obviously
the Interim Assessment will cover
the first 12 months of training. It
must however not be interpreted that
the Interim Assessment covers only
the first 12 months of training.
If for any reason a candidate delays
his submission for Interim
Assessment, the Interim Assessment
should cover all training (in whole
months) acquired by the candidate
from commencement of his APC to the
month immediately preceding the
Interim Assessment. This is to
provide a full training record so as
to enable the counsellor to carry
out a meaningful assessment and to
offer relevant advice. Training is a
continuous endeavour. To assess the
adequacy of training 6 or more
months later without correlation
with what is currently being
undertaken does not help the
candidates at all.
While the Interim Summary of
Experience is limited to 1000 words,
it will be impractical to cover a
training period of more than 12
months. It is therefore vital for
the Interim Assessment to be
conducted in month 13. As timing for
the assessment of Critical Analysis
and Practical Task is critical, most
candidates will not be ready for
Final Assessment on month 25. In
order to gauge the adequacy and
suitability of training, it may be
desirable to conduct a second
Interim Assessment on month 25, and
if appropriate, a third Interim
Assessment on month 37.
It is appreciated that some
candidates are receiving
intermittent training as they are
not fortunate enough to have
continuous employment. Counsellors
should therefore exercise their
discretion in the timing of the
Interim Assessment. To provide the
more timely guidance to candidates,
it will be desirable to conduct an
interim assessment after every 12
working months (or every 240 working
days) and upon every change of
employment. When there is a change
of counsellor, it is also desirable
to conduct an Interim Assessment by
the outgoing counsellor to conclude
his part of mentoring. Thus the
continuous monitoring of the
candidate?s training progress can be
aptly handed over to the succeeding
counsellor.
It is important that APC
candidates?training is properly
supervised and guided to ensure
sufficient professional competence
for qualification, and the Institute
relies heavily on both candidates
and their counsellors to maintain
professional standards.
Barnabas H.K. Chung
Chairman, BS Divisional Education
Committee
April 2003
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