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> 5. The utterly useless emphasis on certification. Certification will only
> allow STC members a new tool to discriminate against "non-members". There
> is absolutely no way to "certify" writers in a fair and impartial manner.
> Each industry, company, and market has different needs, expectations, and
> tolerances.
Properly handled, certification could be useful to potential employers.
They could expect a certain a minimal standard, just as they could when
choosing a doctor, an accountant, or a union carpenter. Ideally, they
could even have a body to complain about substandard results or
unprofessional behaviour.
However, based on past performance, I seriously doubt that the STC is
capable of organizing any type of certification, meaningful or
otherwise. The STC has been talking about certification for the six
years that I've been doing tech-writing, but hasn't apparently made any
progress towards the goal. Nor has it made any attempt to behave like a
professional organization in other ways by providing work-related
services to its members.
Besides, the STC seems to rely on new members of the profession to
bolster its rolls and to supply active members. Any certification effort
would conflict with this tendency by excluding some recruits.
To all appearances, the STC includes a group that would like
certification. However, I doubt this group has the support of the entire
organization. If it did, then surely six years would have seen some
progress. As things are, certification is just another thing that the
STC likes to talk about.
--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- progeny -dot- com
"And Tyler smiles, Tyler smiles,
At an angry crowd stretching miles and miles,
Six hundred years, and the lesson wasn't learned."
- Attila the Stockbroker, "Tyler Smiles (22nd November, 1990)"
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