RIAI registration fees!!!

Niall Keane

Since the 2007 Act the title of Architect has become protected by law. I would think this a good thing. However the RIAI have done a deal with government to be the registrars. Basically they (their members) look after the admin costs.

Here's a link to the ARB (Architect's Registration Board) in the UK, you don't need to be in RIBA there.

http://www.arb.org.uk/registration/retention_and_other_fees/fees_for_2010.php

So in the UK your annual fee is £86.

So far this year I had to spend €550 on registration and stamp. Finally my CPDengage is up and running. So you need 20 hours "structured" CPDs. Looking at the fees for such I cannot see this being done for less than €2K.

It's one thing being able to write this off against tax, but as a PAYE worker I cannot, so it costs me €2.5k a year to register as an architect in Ireland, but only £86 in the UK?

Anyone else find this totally unacceptable?

I could wear my cynical hat, and suggest that as the board of the RIAI is by in large made up of small practice owners the new CPD policy could be read as a plan to force PAYE staff to educate themselves on their time with their money to the benefit of their employers business?
I'm sure it also helps along with most public tender pre-quals to dissuade "young" practices from emerging?

I won't even go into the fact that I probably know more about many of the subjects "engaged" with than the private companies "giving the talks".

Mellor

Niall Keane wrote: »

Here's a link to the ARB (Architect's Registration Board) in the UK, you don't need to be in RIBA there.

Registration and membership of the RIAI are separate here also. You don't need to be in the RIAI, .

So far this year I had to spend €550 on registration and stamp. Finally my CPDengage is up and running. So you need 20 hours "structured" CPDs. Looking at the fees for such I cannot see this being done for less than €2K.

Many companys run CPDs free of charge. Not all are official, but it shouldn't be hard to find them.

I could wear my cynical hat, and suggest that as the board of the RIAI is by in large made up of small practice owners the new CPD policy could be read as a plan to force PAYE staff to educate themselves on their time with their money to the benefit of their employers business?

Wouldn't most small companies pay for their PAYE staff's CPDs??

Niall Keane

Many companies run CPDs free of charge. Not all are official, but it shouldn't be hard to find them.

Here we hit the "structured" versus "unstructured" problem. You can find unlisted programmes and submit them to be blessed by the institute as "structured" (wasting more of your time).

Also a lot of these RIAI structured CPD's are scheduled out of hours, are Architects not allowed to have families?

Also I'd say maybe just maybe 2% of CPDs I've attended throughout my career have been of benefit, usually they're the ones about new legislation etc. the vast majority have been glorified sales pitches. In reality there has been very little serious information offered at CPDs that I couldn't Google up in 5 minutes, yet I've had to sit there for an hour. Now maybe this highlights the revolution of the internet and how we efficiently acquire information more so than the content of CPD slide shows?

Where I have been involved in high tech projects over the years I have advised clients to draft in leading specialist consultants to inform the design. Their knowledge didn't come from CPDs either, but from a wealth of real-life experience. I wouldn't be as unprofessional as to not recognise my own limitations, and certainly would not rely solely on info from a CPD slide show. So the only benefit I can see to "structured CPD's" is to the RIAI, in earnings, and letting them tick the "professional standards" box. I've no problem with them earning money through CPDs if they were voluntary, people would pay for and seek out a worthwhile course which could add knowledge and benefit their business. Or perhaps they could be free :eek: paid for by related advertisements contained within the literature? When you're being driven by a stick you got to ask is it to a bunch of carrots or over a cliff? Is this a genuine effort to raise the standards of Irish Architecture or simply even more expensive window dressing to be eventually passed on to the Irish consumer?

Wouldn't most small companies pay for their PAYE staff's CPDs??

Not from what I'm hearing, of the few architects still employed I know, no their CPD's are not being paid for. Can you blame the companies they work for, for cutting out paying for CPDs? It's not like business is pouring through the doors? It is only necessary that 51% of the business is owned by an RIAI member for it to be registered.

Registration and membership of the RIAI are separate here also. You don't need to be in the RIAI, .

Is this actually up and running? Anyone any experience of this?

BTW I have asked about on the cost of other countries registration and so far I've found that annual fees are:


UK - £86 or €98.40
South Africa - R1168.50 or €110
Texas - $305 or €213.65

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

XArchitect

Mellor wrote: »

Registration and membership of the RIAI are separate here also. You don't need to be in the RIAI, .

Although this is correct, the RIAI annual subscription is engrossed in the Statutory registration fee. Thus, all registered architects pay to join the Royal Institute whether or not they choose to exercise that supposed option.
This is why the annual registration fee is excessive in Ireland. The State registration system now guarantees the Royal Institute its subscription income!

Poor Uncle Tom

An apt quote I read somewhere.....

It's another case of the fox being in charge of the henhouse...

dan_d

I believe there was a very heated debate going on on this subject over on www.archiseek.ie up to recently (haven't checked in a few weeks, it all got too much for me!!!).There was a poster there who was complaining about this to a number of different organisations.

Edit: Just checked, it's still ongoing. Getting a bit personal though!!

No6

If you think the registration fee is bad try finding the technical assessment fee in this climate!! You can do formal CPD with out incurring loads of cost, Theres loads of commercial cpds, yes they are a glorified sales pitch but they are formal and are free, there are alos other low cost events with a good dose of CPD hours attached. I do however find some of the RIAI CPD extreemly expensive, usually the one day and two courses and I have found else where for a fraction of the cost!!

De.Lite.Touch

No6 wrote: »

If you think the registration fee is bad try finding the technical assessment fee in this climate!! You can do formal CPD with out incurring loads of cost, Theres loads of commercial cpds, yes they are a glorified sales pitch but they are formal and are free, there are alos other low cost events with a good dose of CPD hours attached. I do however find some of the RIAI CPD extreemly expensive, usually the one day and two courses and I have found else where for a fraction of the cost!!

Could you post where please?

De.Lite.Touch

Hairy mellon

there are plenty of online sites for cpd- also anything to do with bcar si.9 is now counted as cpd

BryanF

your responding to a 4 year old thread

Closed