EXPEDITION GUIDE ACADEMY
Certifications with EGA
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The Expedition Guide Academy provides assessments. We are assessing using the Polar Tourism Guides Association (PTGA) framework. The PTGA is an international standard and qualification organisation for whom the EGA is a PTGA Endorsed Training and Assessment Provider (TAP). Our instructors are accredited assessors and PTGA members.
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As an add-on to some of our Comprehensive Guide Courses, we offer the EGA Comprehensive PTGA Assessment.
If you would like to know more about the PTGA and how the assessment process works, please visit their website here.
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At the EGA, we are happy to let you know that we offer assessments not only in Polar Qualifications (PQs) but also appropriate and valid training to prepare you for those assessments. Please read more below and also head to our Comprehensive Guide Course to learn more about the training preparing you for the assessments.
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We offer a 3-day PTGA assessment, covering core PQs. These are PTGA assessments delivered by the Expedition Guide Academy. The assessment(s) can only be done with us in conjunction with the Comprehensive Guide Course. If you have already booked your spot on our Comprehensive Guide Course, you agree to also sign up for the assessment following your training unless you have booked our stand-alone Comprehensive Guide Course.
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We offer assessments in both Denmark and New Zealand.
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Assessment Content
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Experienced PTGA assessors
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Pre-assessment contract and information
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In-person assessments
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Online assessments
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Feedback sessions
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Post-assessment reports
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Feedback form
Language: English Proficient
Age: 18+
Previous experience: Required prerequisites for each PQ & PTGA membership
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Who is the Assessment for?:
Seasoned guides already working on ships who would like to gain certification and those new to the industry - all of whom have signed up for our Comprehensive Guide Course.
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Minimum: 4 participants
Maximum: 6 participants
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Price: USD $1649
Assessment Outline
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Polar Qualifications
The 3-day assessment covers the following Polar Qualifications (PQs):
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*Please note: That the PQs; Radio & Satellite Phone Communications, Navigation Skills, and Working with Small Boats/ Zodiacs are all required prerequisites for the Driving Small Boats/ Zodiacs qualification. You'll also need a current first-aid certificate. See below for further information on this.
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Preparation and Prerequisites for EGA's Comprehensive PTGA Assessment
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Before you start your assessments with us, you will have to become a PTGA member. All PTGA assessment candidates need to hold a current First Aid Certificate before qualifications can be issued. There is a 3-months limitation period for supplying this to the PTGA after your last assessment day. The EGA is not responsible for any of this paperwork and it is thus something that needs to be sent directly to the PTGA in due time.
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Before arriving for your in-person assessments with us, you will have to complete the online training & assessment that the PTGA offers for the following PQs:
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Radio & Satellite Phone Communications
After completing the online training course, you will go through a self-directed online assessment in Navigation Skills (element 1) and in all of the Radio & Satellite Phone Communications (elements 1 & 2). ​
Please note that completing the above is a requirement for the in-person assessment with us because the Radio & Satellite Phone Communications and Navigation Skills PQs are both prerequisites for being assessed in Driving Small Boats/Zodiacs.
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Once you have booked your Comprehensive Guide Course and also the EGA Comprehensive PTGA Assessment, you will receive a tutorial on how to access the PTGA online training and assessments.
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*You have to be a PTGA member to do both the online training and the online assessment
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To Summerise
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When doing the PTGA assessment with us, please make sure that you are;
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​Booked on our Comprehensive Guide Course, that offers assessment as an add-on.
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A member of the PTGA
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That you fulfil the required prerequisites for the PQs
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That you have read and understood the PQs that you are being assessed in
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You feel well-prepared and ready for the assessment.
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You have done PTGA's online training and assessment​​
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You have a plan for being able to supply a current first aid certificate to the PTGA no later than 3 months after your last assessment finishes.
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Important Additional Assessment Details
Certification
By the end of your assessment with us, we will write a detailed post-assessment report which we pass on to the PTGA. From here the PTGA will add gained awards to your online profile.​
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The type of assessment
It is important to understand that all PTGA assessments are performance-based. This means they are not "participation-based". The Comprehensive Guide Course prepares you for the assessments in the very best way. You can read all about the assessment process at the PTGA's website to understand the valuable a process of these assessments. It is not like your typical exam.
Practical Information
Facilities
The Assessments take place both outside and indoors. We will spend a lot of time on the water, on the beach, in green areas and indoors at the EGA Venue. At the venue, candidates will have coffee and tea available, including cow and oat milk. On the last day of assessment, the EGA will organise a communal dinner to "hygge" and celebrate your hard work.
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Assessors
We look at the PTGA assessments as a process, and within this process, your learning continues. This means that we take our time to assess you to maximise your outcome and to help you along your continuum of learning. Thus, we have enough assessors involved in the 3-day assessments that we will get you through all of the PQs listed above and their sub-elements without rushing the process.
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Accommodation
We offer accommodation on-site at our training facility, at the EGA venue. Please see under the Comprehensive Guide Course for more information on our accommodation options. You're more than welcome to organise your accommodation and stay off-site, however, we do encourage candidates to stay on-site and engage in the fully immersive learning environment. If you wish to book our accommodation, please choose the 11-night option if you are doing both the Comprehensive Guide Course and the Comprehensive PTGA Assessment.
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Arrival and Departure
Departure will be the morning after the final day of assessments.
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