As the professional body for IMLs, only holders of the award or aspirants are eligible to join.
Membership can be opened or your membership category upgraded at any time of year, provided that you fulfil the membership requirements for the category you wish to join. However, the membership period follows the calendar year and expires 31 Dec each year, renewals typically open at the beginning of December for the following year.
How to Join / Renew
- Login to the Candidate Management System (CMS).
- Ensure your records are up to date with CPD, first aid and public liability insurance (if required for your category) and a passport style photo for your card
- Click on membership tab to join or renew.
Only the membership categories that the system shows you are eligible for will display, the system will not let you join as a full member unless you meet the requirements.
Please contact office@baiml.org if you have questions or need assistance.
Member’s Area of the Website!
Access to the member’s area of the BAIML website is available to all membership categories.
The BAIML website is independent of the CMS system so renewal may not immediately grant your access. Access is periodically aligned with the membership records on CMS throughout the year. A full annual revision is performed at the end of January following the vast majority of renewals.
If you do not appear to have access to the member’s area of this website, but you are a member on CMS, please contact info@baiml.org (the office cannot give you access to the BAIML website).
Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
Like most professions we expect our active members to keep up with changes in practice and regularly update their skills.
Does your membership category requires you to have CPD?
If you are not sure what the requirements are, or what can count as CPD? We suggest you read the full CPD policy as you will need this to be up to date to join / renew.
Categories of Membership
Full Membership – for active UIMLA IMLs
Full members are legally allowed to practice the profession of International Mountain Leader. They are issued with the UIMLA hologram sticker for their carnet and may display the UIMLA badge and medal.
Full membership requires that you have successfully completed the IML qualification, hold a valid first aid certificate, have valid liability insurance and meet the CPD requirements. All of these details are entered into your profile on the CMS. This information must be up to date before the system will allow you to renew or join as a full member.
CPD Requirement for Full Membership
A minimum of 4 points gained in the preceding 4 years. This is equivalent to a minimum of 4 days of continued professional development in that period. At least 2 of these points must be core CPD.
You can also see your current CPD count and predicted forecast/shortfall in CPD at year end on the CMS. If, for whatever reason, you do not meet the requirements for full membership, but aspire to become a full member once again, it is recommended that you join or hold your membership as Associate.
Newly qualified members
The CPD requirements are lower in the first years post qualification – full information is found in the CPD policy which can be found in the member’s area of the website.
Associate Membership – Qualified Inactive IMLs / Working towards full membership requirements
Associate membership allows you continued access to CPD at BAIML rates, newsletters, notifications of events and other benefits. Once you meet the requirements of full membership, it is possible to upgrade from Associate to Full member at any time via the CMS.
Aspirant Membership
As a candidate registered on the MTUKI IML scheme, you can join BAIML as an aspirant member once you have completed your Summer IML training.
Complementary Membership
In fact, you receive complementary aspirant membership for the remainder of the year when you complete your Summer IML Training. Once you complete your final assessment and pass the IML award, your membership should automatically be changed to Associate, or Full membership should you meet those requirements. Note that in both cases, you have to click ‘yes’ to accepting these memberships in the information you get from MTUKI. The membership of BAIML is also complementary for the remainder of the year of qualification.
Post Qualification
Once qualified, there are requirements for gaining CPD including during the year of qualification post assessment. For more information about becoming an IML (from completing the Summer IML Training course to qualifying) and how BAIML is supporting you, please also see the PDF file Becoming an IML.
Lapsed Membership
If you are a lapsed member, it is recommended that you re-join as an Associate member for the reasons mentioned above. This also means that you can get specific advice about your current CPD record and how best to advance to Full membership. For further assistance please contact technical@baiml.org and a member of the Customer Service Team at the Mountain Training office at Siabod Cottage can assist you.
Note that if you have not been eligible for full membership for more than 4 years, additional prerequisites are in place to gain Full membership. For further information please contact us on technical@baiml.org.
UIMLA IML Gained Elsewhere
You may hold a UIMLA IML award from another member country but you are relocating or have relocated to the UK or Ireland and wish to join BAIML as your membership association. This is possible and for further information and the documentation that is required, please contact us at technical@baiml.org.