Chartership - the Professional Knowledge and Skills Base

Towards the end of last year I finally took the plunge and registered for Chartership. I found a mentor and began to make plans. After many years of procrastinating, I was finally about to begin the process.

My first task was to go through the PKSB (Professional Knowledge and Skills Base) and pick out areas I thought I might like to develop. The PKSB looks really daunting at first, but remember, you aren't expected to do everything! I found blog posts about the process by WoodsieGirl and Steve Carlton, which were really useful in helping me work out exactly what I needed to do.

I began by going through the entire PKSB and giving myself a score for each area, as well as a score for my ideal skill level. I ended up with roughly three categories: areas in which I feel my skills are up to scratch; areas in which I don't have much expertise but which are not immediately relevant to my role and projected career path; and areas which are relevant but which are in need of improvement. This last category is certainly the most important in terms of Chartership.

Area of PKSB
3. Using and exploiting knowledge and information
3.3 Information retrieval
5. Information Governance and Compliance
5.3 Copyright, intellectual property and licensing
8. Literacies and Learning
8.6 Teaching and training skills
8.8 Virtual learning environments
11. Customer Focus, Service Design and Marketing
11.4 Service innovation, development and design
Other PKSB elements
Ethics and Values
Wider Library, Information and Knowledge Sector Context
Wider Organisation and Environmental Context

After some thought I settled on the categories above. I discussed them with my mentor to make sure I was on the right lines. I wanted to make sure I chose a variety of skills and knowledge areas from different areas, with a good mix of concrete skills and general awareness.

I already have some ideas of how I'm going to develop my skills, and I have made a plan of sorts - it's just a matter of sticking to it! One of my objectives was to attend the 2016 Blackboard Users' Conference in Durham, and I did that at the beginning of January, so I can tick something off my list. I've also completed a MOOC about literature searching. Next  up is a write-up of the conference, after which I need to tackle some reflective pieces.

My tips for the initial PKSB assessment are as follows:

  • Try not to get overwhelmed: remember, you don't need to aim for a 4 in everything - you only need to select up to 10 areas.
  • Ask for advice, or at least, try and and find out how others coped with the assessment: as I mentioned, I found the blog posts mentioned above very informative.
  • Discuss it with your mentor: either before, during or after your self-assessment. They can help reassure you that you are on the right lines.
  • Don't worry about getting your initial scores completely right - they are just estimates and you will not be tested on them.
Now to put my plan into practice...