This is very useful information Paul, thanks.
I for one would like you to keep us informed of anything more on this issue, from your experience and involvement.
Steve

What do you think - Band 5 = MTO3
Band 6 = MTO3+*/MTO4

???

cheers. Mark

Has anyone thought about how much it is going to cost for everybody to upgrade their qualies to BEng or for those wishing to progress beyond basic level, the pg dip or Masters? What next, a PhD?

I'm all for having higher standards, but lets be realistic about it.

BEng - don't they want people to come/stay in our profession?

cheers. Mark

Academic qualifications will not necessarily mean that higher qualified individuals will do better - it will depend on the requirements of the job description you have and the evaluation of the post, i.e. the job that you and I currently fill, not the academic qualifications we have, as far as I understand it. It does look like people with BEng/BSc will be required in the future because that's the basic level that the "working grade" has been pitched at. However this requirement will be for the new trainees coming through the system, not those in-post during the AFC transition, won't it?

What the requirement for Higher qualifications does mean, to those currently in-post, is that those who do not have Degrees or Higher Degrees may not be able to advance to specialist or management-level in the new scheme of things and may not have the same opportunities to move between jobs since they will not meet the academic requirements. So it is possible there will be less job-mobility for those individuals lacking the necessary qualifications.

What's bothering me is that, based on current scales and cost of living pay awards, I reckon that I'll be something like £1000 a year worse off with AFC if I'm transferred across to the top of Band 5 from the top of MTO3 where I am now. As for the career development prospects of AFC I will still have nowhere on the pay-spine to advance in this case - unless I am located somewhere on the middle of band 5 that is! Either way I will need a Recruitment and Retention top-up if I'm to retain my current level of salary and I will certainly leave at the first opportunity if the prospect of a temporary R&R premium and the same old dead-end job is left hanging over me post AFC.

Now that we have the MTO bandings and we all have our own job descriptions, who actually decides on the band that the individual fits into. If it is supposed to be a national job profile, will it be the case that all MTO3's for example will move to band 'x' and all MTO4's will move to band 'y' or is it down to individual hospital HR departments to decide on the banding.
If it is decided locally by the HR departments then we are not going to have a uniform system and similar jobs in different trusts will be banded differently.
If it is decided nationally then should there not be quidlines fitting existing posts in the new bands.
I realise that the banding is based on points scored in the job profiles and all jobs are slightly different but I can't see how there can be consistancy throughout all the trusts if the profile scoring is carried out on an individual trust basis.

Dear All

In the latest IPEM newsletter, an advert appears for a one day workshop being held at Guy's and Tommy's on the implementation of AfC in the Medical Physics setting (this includes EBME).

Numbers are limited with cost not to exceed £30, payment will be by cash or personal cheque. Interest should be email by 27th Feb to graeme.taylor@gstt.sthames.nhs.uk with A4C as the subject. Hopefully some of you can attend and feedback to the site.

Be helpful if trades unions and our employer could be a bit more forthcoming with info.

Would also be helpful if people like IPEM were to offer their twopence worth. Problem is that they don't really care about techies once they have our money. Why should they? Most of them are Scientists etc and will tend to be on the higher grades anyway.

I wonder what would happen if everybody asked for study leave and funding to bring them up to degree level at the same time.

It will be quite simple. MTO 2's= Grade 4, MTO3's= Grade 5,MTO4's= Grade 6,MTO5's = Grade7. They will remove discrectionary points and MTO with stars will have salary protection for 5 years until the scale catches up with them. As a top of the scale MTO3 I expect to lose out under AFC(surprise surprise )