Rather than write this blog post about my job, where I dig with Wessex Archaeology in Sheffield, I’m going to tell you about the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) and why you like I should get involved, and How it affects my working day.

I first found out about CIfA from a talk at university by a member of CIfA staff. They explained to us CIfA’s role as a professional organization. This role involves improving the standards of our work as archaeologists and improving the archaeology industry’s reputation within the wider world. The idea that I an undergraduate student could get involved was intriguing, and I joined as a student member, this allowed me to access a wide range of CIfA resources including a jobs bulletin, the various standards of our work, and most importantly the ‘Pathways’ scheme.

In Commerical archaeology, there’s always a high level of competition for jobs and one of the ways to get your CV to the top of the pile is to become an ‘accredited’ member of CIfA. This is where the ‘Pathways’ scheme comes in; it provides clear guidance for archaeology students and others to become Practitioner members of CIfA (like me). This allows people just starting out in their archaeology careers to recognise their skills and supports them in their professional growth.

If like me you like the sound of that you might be interested in joining the group which supports this scheme. CIfA New Generation group is a group for archaeology students and those early in their archaeology career. The group advises CIfA on how best to support these members and works to inform the members of a wide range of opportunities available to them. As their current secretary, I work to support this in my free time.

The New generation group has allowed me, a relatively junior member of CIfA, to engage in a wide range of CIfA’s activities from deciding which organisations meet CIfA’s standards (in the Registered Organisations Committee), advising on CIfA’s policies and strategies (in the Advisory Council), and soon even advising on those standards which I work to (in the professional standards advisory panel).

This volunteer work has improved my understanding of our methodologies and our reports and regularly allows me to give informed guidance on-site on a wide range of matters, as well as supporting my colleagues in applying to become CIfA members. By volunteering with CIfA we actively seek to improve the profession for ourselves, our colleagues, and the wider world, so I encourage you to join and shape our profession for the future.

If reading this has sparked your interest in CIfA membership for more information go to: https://www.archaeologists.net/join/individual/.

If you are interested in the New generation group go to: https://www.archaeologists.net/groups/NG.