The Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) and the presidents of its member associations have agreed in principle to create a European certificate of professional competence for risk managers, FERMA Vice President Michel Dennery announced today (Tue) during the FERMA Forum 2013.

Michel is the head of the FERMA working party on certification. He said: “We reached consensus on the certification project with the presidents of our associations at a meeting held here at the FERMA Forum in Maastricht. We now have to discuss the practical issues, and we will be working with the member associations to do that.

“This is a really exciting project for FERMA. Certification will take time to develop and there are plenty of details to be discussed but we believe European certification can bring real value to our member associations and their members.”

Michel emphasised that FERMA will use the education and training programmes already under way or in development by its member associations to create a framework of best practice. Eight associations already have an education program, through their own education body, such as AMRAE Formation, or through partnerships with universities or high schools.

“We are looking to create a framework to leverage the work that our members are doing. FERMA has never intended to become an education body,” he emphasised. “On the contrary, our intention is that the educational institutions will use this European body of knowledge to ensure that their diplomas meet the profession’s expectations.”

Each association has been asked to nominate one of its members to work with the FERMA certification technical committee composed of FERMA board member Isabel Martinez and technical advisor Marie Gemma Dequae. Both of them have extensive experience of higher education.

The next step is for this group to define the scope of the certification. “This will obviously take more than a few months, but we hope to have a first draft of the knowledge and competences within a year,” said Michel. “Some associations have already provided material for the group to work on, so we are not starting with a completely blank sheet.”

At the same time, Carl Leeman, the President of the International Association of Risk and Insurance Management Associations (IFRIMA), said that IFRIMA will pursue the development of an international certificate in consultation with FERMA and US and Latin American risk management associations. A working group from these associations will meet in January to discuss the next steps.

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