Thinking about your next career step?

A career in quality means working to make organisations better.

Quality professionals work in all industries and all sectors, and they come in many guises. Some are generalists, some are specialists.

Many will have titles like quality manager, quality engineer, quality director or assurance manager, while others deal with quality as part of a broader remit.

Some are concerned with the delivery of products and services, while some are part of the leadership of an organisation. Some are employed in-house, while others work outside the organisations they deal with.

What unites quality professionals is their dedication to protecting and strengthening their organisations by making sure that stakeholders’ needs are met – and ideally, that their expectations are exceeded. (Read more about the quality profession here).

At a strategic level, they’re involved with making sure the organisation translates its objectives into outcomes (we refer to this part as governance). They’re also focused on increasing efficiency, reducing risk, dealing with compliance, solving problems and employing process improvement tools such as Six Sigma (we refer to these parts as assurance and improvement).

The CQI (Chartered Quality Institute) is the only chartered body dedicated to quality professionals. Our chartered members get to use the title of Chartered Quality Professional – the gold standard for professionalism in quality.

IRCA (International Register of Certificated Auditors)is owned by the CQI and is  for management system auditors. There are many routes into a career in quality and many paths to follow. Traditionally, a lot of people moved into quality having started out in areas such as engineering or health and safety.

But today’s quality profession attracts highly skilled practitioners at the start of their careers too. For this new generation, the appeal of a career in quality is the chance to work at improving all aspects of a business.

The CQI's training portfolio can help you take those first steps in acquiring the right skills and knowledge, and as a CQI or IRCA member, you’ll receive support along every step of your career journey.

Quality Careers Hub

Joining the CQI has many benefits including support for your personal and professional development through our Quality Careers Hub. With over 1,000 pieces of content, the hub includes:

• CV building and interview practice tips and tools
• ·Self-assessment tasks and help to plan your career goals
• Workplace well-being information and advice
• Guides to build your business skills and knowledge
• Quality job vacancies advertised exclusively to members