By: David Jenkins
Globalisation may be in retreat in the aftermath of the pandemic and now because of the war in Ukraine. However, there are still powerful arguments in favour of a global approach for professions.
Shortening your supply chain to take out risk makes sense if you are a manufacturer, but the same principles don’t necessarily apply to professions that can leverage global connections and knowledge to promote best practices.
Medicine gives us one example. The International College of Surgeons was founded in 1935 in Switzerland but now has its headquarters in Chicago, US.
It has more than 4000 members across 134 countries, and its mission is to “foster worldwide surgical excellence through education, training, fellowship and humanitarian efforts.”
If the surgical profession was purely local and inward-looking, it is difficult to imagine that standards would be as high.
Global engagement and peer exchange function as a catalyst for ongoing education and creates an international community. This not only enhances the surgeons’ skills but also gives them international opportunities for travel and work.
Closer to home, the accounting professions have also benefitted from this approach.
Chartered Accountants in Australia and New Zealand merged in 2015, and while there were debates on the merits of the move from both sides of the Tasman, it is now considered a success.
Members can access their peer community close to home but also have the advantage of the merged model’s greater footprint and shared resources.
There have been benefits in training, accreditation, and development. In addition, lifelong learning can be accessed from anywhere worldwide, fostering professional development and more rewarding careers.
The organisation now has a louder voice when it engages externally with governments, corporates and the wider community. This strengthens it as an agent for change and builds greater respect for the profession.
The alternative to this approach is insularity and a degree of parochialism. The quality of professional development would diminish, and skills and accreditation would be less mobile. Arguably, the status of the profession would suffer.
IPWEA sees the benefits of global engagement and is committed to fostering best practices outside of Australia and New Zealand through promoting our suite of professional development and education programs.
We welcome contact with global practitioners, as showcased in the upcoming International Asset Management Congress in June, as opportunities to learn from leading practitioners in other parts of the world.
Widgets manufactured in another part of the world might be at risk of making it into the supply chain due to various factors, of which the pandemic and global conflict are extreme examples.
When it comes to the professions, however, modern communications have done much to eradicate distance and promote standards and educational curricula. It is as easy to communicate with a colleague in the next suburb as in another country.
Professionals are stronger together than they are if they are apart, and that means looking across borders to work with peers for mutual benefit and collective improvement.
