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Qualifications

A qualification is a named capability your agency recognizes, such as Field Team Member, Rope Rescue Technician, or K9 Handler. You define it as a set of certification requirements. A member holds the qualification by holding the certifications.

Qualifications:

  • Spell out exactly which certifications make someone qualified, including alternatives
  • Show each member what they still need
  • Show you gaps across the team
  • Feed readiness and compliance reporting
Prerequisites

Qualifications are built from your Certification Templates. Create the templates first. See Record & Certification Templates.

Where to Find Qualifications​

  1. In the left-hand menu, select Certifications.
  2. On the top bar, select the Qualifications tab.

Qualifications tab on the Certifications page

The tab appears only for members who have View qualifications (Agency Admins always have it). Every member can see their own qualifications on My Certifications without it. See Roles & Permissions.

The top bar has a search box and four tiles: Qualifications (the total), Earned, Expected, and Inactive. Select a tile to filter the list; select Clear to remove the filter. Each row shows the qualification's name, its Tracking mode, how many Requirements it has, how many Members hold it, and whether it is Active.

Select a row to open its read-only details. The ⋮ menu on a row offers Members, Edit, Duplicate, Activate / Deactivate, and Delete. You see only the actions your role allows.

Tracking Mode: Earned or Expected​

Each qualification has a Tracking Mode. This is the most important choice you make.

EarnedExpected
Who holds itComputed automatically. Whoever holds the right certifications holds the qualification.Assigned by an administrator
Member listBuilt by RAM. A member appears while their certifications satisfy the requirements and drops off when one expires or is removed.Set by you
Can you add or remove members by hand?No. RAM refuses manual changes. The list can only be viewed.Yes
Unmet requirementsNot applicable. Nobody is "missing" it, they just don't hold it yet.Shown as gaps on Team Certifications until the member holds the certifications
Best forCapabilities fully defined by certifications (Rope Rescue Technician)Roles members are expected to fill, where you want to see who is short
Choosing

Pick Earned when certifications alone define the capability. Pick Expected when you decide who is in the role and want to track what is missing.

Creating a Qualification​

Select New qualification on the top bar (needs Create qualifications). The form has two parts.

Basic Information​

FieldDescription
Qualification Name (required)What members see, e.g., "K9 Handler"
Tracking ModeExpected or Earned (see above)
ActiveInactive qualifications are kept but not enforced and not shown to members
DescriptionWhat the qualification involves

Requirements​

Select Add Requirement and build the tree. The logic is:

  • Requirements — a member must meet every requirement (AND).
  • Paths — within a requirement, any one path is enough (OR).
  • Certifications on a path — a member must hold all of them together (AND).

For each requirement:

  1. Enter a Requirement label (e.g., "Medical", "Water Rescue").
  2. Under Required Certifications, choose one or more certifications from your templates.
  3. To allow an alternative, select Add Alternative Path and choose the certifications for that path. Paths are labeled Path A, Path B, and so on. Use the trash icon to remove a path when there is more than one.
  4. Use the ⋮ beside a requirement to remove the whole requirement.

The small ? beside Requirements opens a worked example.

Example: Rope Rescue Technician. One requirement, "Rope Certification," with two paths:

  • Path A: Rope Technician Level I and Rope Technician Level II held together
  • Path B: Master Rope Technician Level III alone

A member qualifies with (Level I + Level II) or Master Level III.

Example: K9 Handler. Three requirements:

  1. CPR
  2. First Aid
  3. K9 Certification, with Path A: K9 SAR Certification and Path B: K9 Tracking Certification

A member needs CPR and First Aid and either K9 certification.

Every requirement needs certifications

A requirement or path with no certifications can never be satisfied, so RAM will not save it. Add at least one requirement, each with at least one certification, before you save.

Select Save to create it.

Who Holds a Qualification​

Earned​

Open the row's details and select View Members. You see a read-only list of members who currently qualify. There are no toggles. The list updates by itself as certifications are added, approved, or expire.

Expected​

Use the ⋮ menu, then Members (or Assign Members in the details). Search by name or email, then check the members you want. Each assigned member shows a status:

StatusMeaning
QualifiedHolds all the required certifications
In ProgressAssigned but still missing requirements
LapsedWas qualified, but a certification has expired or been removed

Members see what they still need on their own My Certifications page, under Qualification requirements. Select a chip to start adding that certification. Admins see gaps on Team Certifications.

Editing, Duplicating, and Turning Off​

  • Edit — change the name, description, mode, requirements, or active status. Changes apply from then on, and earned membership is recomputed.
  • Duplicate — copies a qualification under a new name. Handy for a variant that shares most requirements.
  • Deactivate — keeps the qualification but stops enforcing it: it is not shown to members and not counted as a gap. You can Activate it again at any time.
  • Delete (needs Delete qualifications) — takes the qualification off the Qualifications page and every member's list at once, and sends it to Archives for 30 days. See Deleting and Restoring a Qualification. If you only want it out of the way for now, deactivate it instead.

Deleting and Restoring a Qualification​

Delete doesn't destroy a qualification. It waits in Archives → Qualifications for 30 days, with its requirements and the members who held it. While it waits it's gone from this page and from every member's list.

  • Restore it: a member with Delete qualifications, or an Agency Admin, opens Archives → Qualifications and restores it. It comes back with its requirements and members. Statuses and earned membership are recalculated from members' current certifications.
  • Automatic cleanup: after 30 days it's destroyed and can't be restored.
  • Destroy it sooner: an Agency Admin can delete it permanently from Archives by typing its name.
  • Reusing the name: you can create a new qualification with the same name while the old one waits. Before restoring the old one, rename one of the two.
  • Members' certifications are never changed by any of this.

See Archives.

Archives Qualifications tab with a deleted qualification and its days left

Best Practices​

  • Start small. Include only the must-have certifications.
  • Use paths for real alternatives. Add a path only when different certifications genuinely qualify someone.
  • Choose the mode on purpose. Earned is self-maintaining. Expected shows you gaps.
  • Deactivate rather than delete when you want to keep the definition.
  • Test with a real member to confirm the requirements work as intended.

Troubleshooting​

"Member should qualify but doesn't" — Check that they hold every requirement, at least one full path for each, and that none of the certifications has expired. The certifications must match the templates in the requirements, not similar-looking ones.

"I can't add a member to this qualification" — It's probably Earned. Membership is computed from certifications and can't be edited by hand. Change the mode to Expected if you want to assign members.

"I can't save the qualification" — A requirement or path is empty. Add a certification to each, or remove the empty one.

"I don't see the Qualifications tab" — You need the View qualifications permission. Ask an administrator. See Roles & Permissions.