PTGA FOR GUIDES

Yes, you can still become a member and become assessed by either an independent PTGA Assessor, online assessment or through one of our Training and Assesment Providers. MORE INFORMATION…

A guide can gain PQs through a company they work for if that company is licensed, via online assessment options or privately using an independent assessor or Training and Assessment Provider.

There are a number of ways you can get training to the PQ syllabus: 1. You can seek out any of our approved Training and Assessment Providers who advertise programs through the PTGA website. 2. If the Company you work for has a PTGA Assessor you can seek training through them as their internal training program probably uses the PQs as standards. 3. If the Company you work for or going to work for, has a training program you can ask them to focus on it.

As long as you are a financial member of the PTGA and continue the 4 yearly revalidation process they can. If either of these things expires you cannot claim your PQs as valid to any employer. See also FAQ What happens to my PQs/status if I want to take a break from the industry.

The online modules are short learning courses we have designed around different interest topics in polar tourism. They are not compulsory but if you are serious about having more to offer your clients then these modules target topics you may have a weakness in. By collecting more you can add them to your Pro-File and it is proof to any current or future employer you have done a range of extra study and made yourself more valuable.

You can present your qualifications or awards from anywhere else. First read through the Cross-credit matrix and see if your qualification is in there and if there are any ‘extra’ things to be done to ensure equivalency. If your award is not in there contact the PTGA Admin and you will need to send a copy of the syllabus and course content so we can check its equivalency and put it on the Matrix.

Please download your PTGA log template to keep a record of your experience. The more detailed and current you keep this the easier and quicker the re-validation process will be.

PTGA offers the opportunity to use Workplace Based Assessment (WBA). We believe the best, and most natural, way to test a guides competence is to see them doing their ‘normal’ work. Of course there are some PQs (Radio and Comms, Navigation, Presentation, Interpretation) that could easily be assessed somewhere other than a vessel or field camp in the polar regions and this will happen. Our more complex, nuanced and potentially hazardous PQs like Lead a Hike and Drive a Small Boat/Zodiac can’t be tested using scenarios and role-playing elsewhere. This is why we aren’t just adopting a boating qualification from another provider because we want to see you doing your job, in the ice, in the wind with the time pressures and an irate EL on your case – this is the real job of a polar professional and there is no where else in the world that can simulate this. Because of the integrity of our scheme and the real life Workplace Based Assessment scheme we provide you with a much more valuable and relevant qualification.

The RCC scheme was an initial polar offering (IPO) to acknowledge people who have already been in the industry for a long time. They bring an enormous amount of experience, judgement and skills to play and we would like them to be part of this Association and to be able to access that knowledge so we see value in a period of time that people can be vetted by peer endorsement, attestation and paper review. But the real value in the PTGA testing system is engaged performance testing with a fellow industry professional. The RCC process doesn’t do this so we want to get down to our core business and actually engage with people and their skills. For that reason we encourage long term industry professionals to get in while this recognition of their extensive time in the field exists.

You can login to your account from where you can access all details of your account, personal details, qualifications, file vault and membership details.

Simply login to your account and click on the “Membership & Clubs” tab. This will show you the current status of your membership and if it’s available to renew you will see an option to renew. If your membership has lapsed or expired you can simply pay to renew within 30 days and we’ll continue your membership from where it was before. After 30 days we will start a new membership period from the day you pay.

Go to the login page and click the Forgotten Password link. This will guide you through resetting your password. PTGA and Tahdah staff do not have access to passwords as they are one-way encrypted for your security and protection, but you can create a new password.

Simply login to your account, click on the “Personal Details” tab to see all the information we hold about you and edit your details.

Simply login to your account and click on your profile picture to upload a new photo.

Simply login to your account, click on the “Memberships & Clubs” tab to see all the details about your membership including the renewal date. You will receive a reminder about your upcoming renewal 30 days, 14 days and 7 days in advance.

Simply login to your account, click on the “Privacy/All Settings” tab and then on saved cards where you can add and remove saved cards.

Please contact us with any queries prior to cancelling, so that we can help. If you still need to cancel, you can do so by logging in to your account, click on the “Memberships & Clubs” tab to see all the details about your membership including the renewal date. From there, there is the option to request cancellation.