Valuer Membership Expands to Engage Wider Community
The Institute of Registered Valuers (IRV) has expanded its membership categories to encompass a larger valuing community through specific membership categories for Specialist Valuers, Student Valuers and Retired (non-valuing) members.
These new categories sit alongside existing categories of membership (Fellow and Member) and have been brought in response to valuer demand.
Barry Sullivan Chair of the NAJ’s Professional & Technical Standards and IRV (PTSI) Steering Group said,
“We are aware that there are a significant number of professionals who carry out valuations, but do not currently meet our criteria for full MIRV (Member) or FIRV (Fellow) status but do want to achieve this level. These categories sit alongside our existing categories of membership and have been developed in response to valuer demand. There have been extensive discussions at PTSI and before it the IRV Committee, and I’m pleased to say that we have finally overcome some hurdles and can welcome into membership these important groups.”
Image: IRV Members and Fellows will be issued with an ID card for 2020, in order to demonstrate their professional credentials.
NAJ Chief Executive Simon Forrester said of the new categories,
“Professional Institutions need to have a way of bringing in and engaging the practitioners of tomorrow, and keeping those with lots of knowledge close to the sector, hence the introduction of the Student and Retired categories. With one eye on ensuring our sector remains fit for the future, we are committed to creating a structure suitable for Chartered status, and are actively pursuing this with a third party.
“Valuers’ standards within the IRV are the benchmark for the UK jewellery industry and are comparable with other professions, as MIRV’s (Members) and FIRV’s (Fellows) are subject to ongoing monitoring to assure quality and accuracy of their valuations, alongside Continuing Professional Development, and minimum educational qualification standards.”
“In a recent survey of 2,500 members of the public regarding the importance of a professional valuation; 63% said it was important to them. We hope the valuer community can see that, as the professional body for jewellery valuers, the IRV has a bright future ahead of us – with standards and professionalism at the very heart of it.”
Students and Retired Members will in effect be Associates so will not appear on the Find a Valuer directory due being subject to lesser criteria, while Specialists will be expected to reach the same standard as Fellows or Members but will appear on the Find a Valuer directory. Specialist Valuers is a practicing category, and recruitment to this group will involve an interview process to assess suitability.
This development comes alongside the introduction of ID cards and new certification for valuers registered with the Institute, a move Forrester says is “designed to demonstrate IRV professionalism and standards and assure credentials to those both within the trade and outside of it”.
For more details on joining any of these categories, interested parties can contact Sandra Page, IRV Coordinator by emailing [email protected].
About the IRV
The Institute of Registered Valuers is the only professionally recognised valuation body in the UK, acknowledged by insurers and wider trade as the pinnacle of professional valuation services. A part of the National Association of Jewellers, its members benefit from free access to the entire 2,000+ NAJ membership, daily referrals, business benefits and services, and recognition from insurers and retail customers alike. IRV Members will be able to interact with retailers at the forthcoming NAJ Summit, designed to bring together the whole of the UK jewellery sector.
