ACADEMIC TRAINING AND PRACTICING ERGONOMISTS - MEETING THE NEEDS

摘要

Ergonomics is described by the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) as a scientific discipline. Ergonomists work in both academia and practice; with academic research creating the evidence base which practitioners apply. The majority of both types of professional currently undergo the same initial professional development, often via MSc study. MSc level education has specific requirements outlined by The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA). The QAA requirements are better aligned with the needs of academics than practitioners, raising the question whether it is too much to ask for an academic course in a practical subject to meet the needs of both sets of potential professionals. Brief findings from some focus group research carried out with ergonomics academics and practitioners suggests this may be the case and lends some support to the idea that different training routes could be considered for the two groups. Potential reasons why splitting the training of academics and practitioners would be to the detriment of the field are put forward with some suggestions for gaining further information to examine these issues.