The International Federation of Hydrographic Societies (IFHS) has developed the Hydrographic Professional Accreditation Scheme (HPAS) to provide international recognition to hydrographic professionals in demonstrating their competency, educational background and career development.

The HPAS initiative has reached an important milestone by completing its Pilot Phase, which was initiated in March. This phase, run by a panel of international experts, aimed to benchmark the HPAS procedures and processes. Over 40 hydrographic professionals volunteered to be the first professionals assessed under the HPAS framework. Of these, 18 were selected for the Pilot Phase from across the countries and regions represented by the IFHS Member Societies: Belgium, France and the francophone countries, Germany, The Netherlands, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The HPAS Panel of Experts awarded HPAS accreditation to 15 of these candidates. 

The IFHS would like to publicly acknowledge the following, without whom HPAS would not have been made possible and whose continued support is invaluable:

• The HPAS Working Group who devised and developed the scheme and wrote the documentation and processes.
     
• The HPAS Assessment Panel; a college of internationally recognized professionals drawn from all IFHS Member Societies, who assess the applications of the HPAS candidates. These volunteers have given up their time to review all the applications submitted and, where necessary, interview candidates to ensure they meet the assessment criteria.
   
• The HPAS Steering Committee; representatives from all the IFHS Member Societies. The HPAS Steering Committee is responsible for the oversight and stewardship of HPAS under the aegis of the IFHS Executive Committee. 

The first formal round of HPAS applications runs from 6 September 2021 to 17 October 2021. For further information about the HPAS framework and application process, visit the HPAS webpage.