Phase 1 · Get your bearings
Are you ready to apply?
An honest check across the things that actually hold applications up, with what to do about each.
Who this is for:Candidates at any stage ·Mentors
Applying too early costs a year and a fee. Applying too late costs less, but people do it for years. This is a way of finding out which risk you are actually running.
Readiness is not a feeling, and it is not the number of years you have been working. It breaks down into four separate questions, and it is normal to be firmly ready on three of them and nowhere near on the fourth.
The check below is Queensferry's own, not ICE's, and nothing it says has any standing with ICE. Its only purpose is to make you look at each part separately instead of at an overall impression.
Readiness check
Answer honestly. This is a Queensferry check with no standing at ICE — its only job is to make you look at each part separately.
Everything here is stored in this browser only. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is analysed, and clearing your browser data will delete it — so export anything you want to keep.
The four questions
Am I eligible? Educational base confirmed for the grade, IPD formally complete and registered with ICE, two sponsors willing. These are administrative facts. They are either true or they are not, and the answer does not depend on your confidence.
Do I have the experience? Evidence in all seven attribute areas, at the level applied for, drawn from more than one project, and recent enough to talk about fluently. This is the question the gap analysis is for.
Can I write it? 5,000 words in which your own decisions are visible, consistent with your CV and with what your sponsors will say. Most candidates find that the writing exposes gaps in the experience rather than the other way round — which is a good reason to draft early.
Can I be questioned on it? Everything in your report and appendices is fair game, and reviewers will probe hardest where the report is thin. If there is a section you would rather they skipped, that is where they will go.
What actually holds applications up
| Blocker | How long it takes to fix | Start now if |
|---|---|---|
| Educational base not confirmed | Months. Academic Assessment, Further Learning or the Technical Report Route are all substantial. | You have never had it confirmed in writing for the grade you want. |
| IPD completion not registered | Up to eight weeks for ICE to register a Training Agreement completion, after your SCE signs off. | You have not seen the confirmation from ICE. |
| No lead sponsor | Weeks to months, and it depends on other people. | You cannot name someone today who is an ICE Member or Fellow registered at your grade or above. |
| A thin attribute area | Usually six to eighteen months, because it needs experience rather than writing. | You cannot name a specific example in every one of the seven areas. |
| CPD record with no health and safety training | Weeks, but only if you notice in time. | Your last formal health, safety and welfare training is not current. |
| CPD record too short | Up to three years, if you have kept nothing. | You do not have a personal development record going back the required period. |
The first, second and last of these have caught out candidates who were otherwise entirely ready.
Before you commit to a session
12 items · saved in this browser only
Ticks are saved in this browser only. This is a Queensferry checklist, not an ICE one — the official checklist is in the Professional Review Guidance.
Related pages and tools
- Gap analysisFind the areas where your evidence is thin, and turn each one into a development action you can actually ask for.
- Evidence matrixA private record of your projects, your responsibilities and your decisions, mapped against the seven attribute areas.
- Application plannerWork backwards from your target review: tasks, dependencies, your own confirmed dates, and what is blocking what.
- SponsorsWho can sponsor you, what the lead sponsor's role actually involves, and how to approach both without leaving it late.
- CPDWhat ICE requires, what counts, and how to keep a record that is useful rather than defensive.