1. What’s happening with IMCA Skills and IMCA CPD?
IMCA Skills is our new platform for professional learning and development content for the offshore marine industry. We’re bringing together existing and new content in a modern, secure platform, which you’ll be able to access alongside other IMCA services with a single login. Our Dynamic Positioning (DP) CPD will be the first service to launch on IMCA Skills. Please note Diving CPD will remain unaffected for the time being.
2. I'm a DP CPD user, what do I need to do?
If you have incomplete modules, we invite you to complete them before the migration date of 24 February.
As your learning history and purchased modules will be migrated automatically, learning progress will only reflect completed modules.
You can choose to:
• complete your current module in EdApp then start the next one in IMCA Skills, or
• complete all your modules in EdApp before 24 February and wait for new ones to be released in IMCA Skills.
3. What about my certificates?
Please download your certificate(s) before the migration date because IMCA Skills will include new ways to share and verify your learning progress.You should however, download and retain certificates from EdApp for your records if you wish to keep them in the current format.
4. Is the DP CPD content changing?
No, the IMCA DP CPD content successfully adopted by over 10,000 users in EdApp is exactly what you’ll find in IMCA Skills.
Over time, we will continue to maintain the DP modules, updating them to reflect industry guidance and technological developments, while also taking advantage of new features in the IMCA Skills platform to offer you the best learning experience.
5. Can I still use IMCA Skill for Nautical Institute (NI) DP CPD revalidation?
Yes. IMCA DP CPD remains accredited by the NI for revalidation of DP operator certificates.
This is still the only CPD scheme that is built using the expert knowledge of IMCA – our Members and secretariat team – and the library of technical guidance and incident data spanning multiple decades. Modules include downloadable copies of relevant IMCA guidance documents for your own professional use.
We’ll still be submitting completion data direct to the NI (for existing users and new users opting in), to make your NI revalidation process as smooth as possible.
6. What happens to my existing user accounts?
The EdApp service is being withdrawn but all your previous learning history will automatically be migrated and available when you log into IMCA Skills.
You’ll need a new app, which will provide access to the same DP content. The app will use the IMCA Account login, which you may already have for access to our website or other services. We will be providing full details on accessing the new app and features over the coming weeks as the migration progresses.
Starting a new module, will now be a simple process through IMCA Skills, instead of using the Nautical Institute’s Alexis platform and EdApp as previously. Your Alexis login remains valid for other interactions with the Institute.
7. What about purchases I’ve made through the NI's Alexis platform?
Modules purchased from the Nautical Institute is being migrated to IMCA Skills. However, partial progress data cannot be migrated, so you must either start and finish a module in EdApp before 24 February, or you must wait to start the module within IMCA Skills.
If you have purchased module access from the NI but have not yet created your EdApp account, please do so.
8. What if I need a refund?
If you have purchased DP CPD modules via the Nautical Institute, you will need to contact them regarding any refunds that may be available to you under the current terms and conditions. If you are unable to complete your current module in EdApp before the transition, you won’t need a refund as the module will be available to you within IMCA Skills.
9. Will the IMCA Skills DP app have the same features as EdApp, such as working offline?
IMCA Skills will look and feel different to EdApp but will include all the core features at launch.
Offline functionality will be available, so you can still download your modules before going offshore, complete them where connectivity may be limited, then sync your progress once you’re back online.
The DP CPD modules will retain the same rich, interactive learning content, and the same quizzes used to check your knowledge from EdApp. Elements such as feedback and surveys will appear in an updated format, and we’ll be adding new features later this year.
10. How do I get the IMCA Skills app?
The IMCA Skills web service will be available at a new address, and is designed to be accessible on all modern devices – desktop/laptop computers, tablets and mobile phones.
The IMCA Skills app, will be available in the Apple App Store and Google Play ahead of the launch on 24 February.
11. Is IMCA Skills just for IMCA Members?
No, IMCA Skills is available to any individual wishing to access our professional learning and development content for the offshore marine industry. You can register for an IMCA Account with your own personal email address. We recommend IMCA DP CPD as the best way of completing the CPD requirement of Nautical Institute DP certificate revalidation.
12. I’m a new DP CPD user – what should I do?
We recommend waiting for the launch of IMCA Skills on 24 February which will enable you to be set up directly into the new system and only have one account – your IMCA Account – if you don’t already have one. We’ll have full details on how to register, pay and access IMCA Skills ahead of the launch.
If your Nautical Institute revalidation is due imminently, you can still register via the NI Alexis platform and access the CPD modules using EdApp. Please bear in mind that only data on fully completed modules can be migrated to IMCA Skills, so you’ll need to finish your current module before 24 February.
13. What about my EdApp account?
EdApp is being withdrawn and will eventually be retired from app stores and the web. You may still be able to access EdApp after 24 February, but this is not guaranteed. No further progress data can be migrated to IMCA Skills after this point, so you should not continue with any modules that may still be accessible within EdApp.
14. What happens if I do nothing?
Once the EdApp web service and mobile apps are retired you will lose access (potentially as early as 25 February).
Your completion data will be migrated to the IMCA Skills platform and will be available if you choose to continue learning from where you left off. If you do not wish IMCA to hold this data, please submit a request to [email protected] but be aware that if you choose to return to IMCA DP CPD in the future, you would need to start again from the first module.
Your completion data from EdApp is also provided to the Nautical Institute, which will process that data in accordance to their policies.
For further questions please contact our support team via [email protected].