Levels & Pathways

HPAS is primarily designed to evaluate and assess applicants against the IHO-FIG-ICA S-5 Standards with pathways and competency levels developed to reflect knowledge and experience.

When applying, there are several possible scenarios and options depending upon the educational courses you have completed and the experiences you have gained. These are described here to assist in gaining an understanding of the evidence and application requirements.

The figure below presents an overview of the pathways an applicant may take to gain accreditation at each of the three levels or register as an HPAS Affiliate. For more details and guidance, please refer to the Applicant’s corner section or download the HPAS Framework document and Applicant guide.

HPAS Pathways overview

Affiliate

An Affiliate applicant will have an interest in working in hydrography and will likely be just starting out on such a career. 

Although this level does not provide Accredited Hydrographic Professional status, joining HPAS as an Affiliate shows commitment to the profession and provides a framework for building up a formal portfolio of continued professional development.

Considered starting points include:

  • A student on an IBSC recognised Category A or Category B programme;
  • A student on a non IBSC recognised hydrographic themed course;
  • A student on a surveying or affiliated subject;
  • A trainee or apprentice;
  • An experienced surveyor adapting to specialise in hydrography.

Each of these can have varied levels of understanding but at Affiliate, no significant experience is required.

Level 2

An Accredited Level 2 hydrographic professional will be a practical surveyor capable of performing various survey tasks and executing survey instructions for field survey projects. They will have maintained a logbook of relevant applied experience on top of qualifications (see Applying to HPAS section for further details).

There are 5 pathways to attaining Level 2 Accreditation, namely:

  1. Completion of an IHO-FIG-ICA Category A recognised programme and 1 year of relevant experience;
  2. Completion of an IHO-FIG-ICA Category B recognised programme and a minimum of 2 years’ relevant experience;
  3. Completion of a Surveying degree course and additional formal courses plus a minimum of 3 years’ relevant experience (2 of which should be in practical hydrographic surveying);
  4. Completion of a non-cognate degree, certificate course or diploma course and additional formal courses plus a minimum of 4 years’ relevant experience (3 of which should be in practical hydrographic surveying);

Being Accredited at Level 2 enables the holder to use the post-nominal AH-L2.

Level 1

Level 1 Accreditation is an advanced survey level for those who have the required educational basis and have maintained their experience through CPD and a logbook (see Applying to HPAS section for further details). They will have built upon their initial formal survey qualifications, gained relevant experience, and developed their career which should have progressed to a supervisory or senior level.

A Level 1 hydrographic survey professional will be able to plan, execute and lead complex multi-disciplinary field projects for a variety of different sectors.

There are 4 pathways to attaining Level 1 Accreditation, namely:

  1. Completion of an IHO-FIG-ICA Category A recognised programme and 2 years of relevant experience. A proportion of 60 % of the practical time should demonstrate the applicant gaining relevant in-charge experience;
  2. Completion of an IHO-FIG-ICA Category B recognised programme and additional formal courses plus a minimum of 3 years’ relevant experience. A proportion of 60 % of the practical time should demonstrate the applicant gaining relevant in-charge experience;
  3. Completion of a Surveying degree course with options or specialist modules in hydrographic surveying and additional formal courses plus a minimum of 5 years’ relevant experience (2 of which should be in practical hydrographic surveying). A proportion of 60 % of the practical time should demonstrate the applicant gaining relevant in-charge experience;
  4. Completion of a non-cognate degree, certificate course or diploma course and additional formal courses plus a minimum of 7 years’ relevant experience (4 of which should be in practical hydrographic surveying). A proportion of 60 % of the practical time should demonstrate the applicant gaining relevant in-charge experience.

Being Accredited at Level 1 enables the holder to use the post-nominal AH-L1.

Level Ø

Level Ø Accreditation is the most advanced or highest level attainable. It is for those hydrographic survey professionals who have continued to develop and advance their technical skills and knowledge whilst also developing management and leadership attributes that have allowed them to become people of repute and influence in the profession.

There are 3 pathways to attaining Accreditation at Level Ø, namely:

  1. Completion of an IHO-FIG-ICA Category A recognised programme and 10 years suitable experience involving hydrographic surveys and management. The applicant would have relevant in-charge experience for 8 years of that time;
  2. Completion of an IHO-FIG-ICA Category B recognised programme and additional formal courses plus a minimum of 15 years of suitable experience involving hydrographic surveys and management. The applicant would have relevant in-charge experience for at least 12 years;
  3. Completion of a Surveying degree with options or specialist modules. The minimum appropriate period of experience required is 16 years of experience of which 12 years would be relevant in-charge practical hydrographic surveying and management. Successful completion of additional hydrographic training courses may be expected.

Being Accredited at Level Ø enables the holder to use the post-nominal AH-LØ.