MRS Qualifications in Scotland

Why are qualifications in market research important? What qualifications are available? How do they benefit the individual and the research profession? These questions were addressed at an MRS Scotland meeting in Edinburgh, when Professional Development Manager, Karen Adams, presented a talk on MRS Qualifications - From Job to Profession.

Its central theme was the importance of qualifications in providing a gateway into the profession, and in raising the profile of research outside the profession. Karen told Scottish members that a key feature of any profession was the career progression it offers to its population, with the milestones en route usually represented by a ladder of qualifications. She underlined the importance of qualifications in providing a mechanism for employers to benchmark the level of training they provide and to assess their employees' knowledge and skills.

The talk acknowledged the marked interest in qualifications which exists in Scotland. There are currently two Scottish universities accredited to deliver the MRS Advanced Certificate, and a growing number of distance learning candidates are based in Scotland. Discussions are also continuing to see how the forthcoming Diploma and Introductory Certificate qualifications might be made available there.

"Scotland has a well-deserved reputation for education," said MRS Scottish Branch Chair, Nikki Bell, "and it's important for researchers here to be able to participate in the type of training which leads to nationally-recognised qualifications."

As well as promoting wider access to its qualifications via university programmes, MRS has entered into discussions with the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) to determine how the Advanced Certificate might be made more widely available to those in work. Following a meeting with SQA, Karen Adams commented: "As with many institutions, there are differences between the qualification regulators in Scotland and the rest of the UK. However, we have looked at ways in which MRS and SQA might work in partnership to ensure that anyone in Scotland who would like to complete a qualification in market research has the opportunity to do so."

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