The Field Staff Online Assessment was launched in 2017. Through online exams, guides and expedition leaders can test their knowledge of AECO guidelines and relevant regulations.

In 2023 season an Online Mariners Assessment was added.

Field staff and senior crew are some of the most important decision makers in our industry. The effectiveness of AECO’s guidelines relies on the competence and judgement of the people in the field. Every day, field staff and crew make decisions that can impact life, health and environment, but also the reputation of Arctic expedition cruising. AECO’s Field Staff Online Assessment is developed with the funds from the Svalbard Environmental Protection Fund, and aims to further develop field staffs competence.

Annual tests

The AECO Annual General Meeting has decided that AECO’s online assessments must be taken by field staff and mariners every year.

Designated crew: Captain, Staff Captain (where applicable, Officers in charge of navigational watch, Environmental Officer (where applicable), Chief Engineer, Lead Hotel Officer/Manager, Helicopter pilot (where applicable), Submersible pilot (where applicable).

Designated crew are only asked to take the AECO Mariners Assessment. The Field Staff Assessments is also available to crew, should they be interested, but it is not mandatory.

Responsibility

Operating members are responsible for ensuring that their staff and mariners comply with AECO obligations.

What does the assessment consist of?

The assessments focus on knowledge about AECO’s guidelines and principles in combination with knowledge about Svalbard, Greenland, Canada, and Iceland.

AECO Field Staff Assessments:

• AECO General Questions 2024 (50 questions)
• Greenland 2024 (35 questions)
• Svalbard 2024 (65 questions)
• Canada 2024 (25 questions)
• Iceland 2024 (12 questions)

AECO Mariners Assessment:

• AECO Mariners Assessment 2024 (80 questions)

Each test is a combination of multiple choice and yes/no questions.

Access to the Online Assessments

Staff and crew have to be registered via their employer. Contact your employer to get a self-registration link to the assessments if you have not received one from them already.

To access the assessments, you must log into SpeedExam, that hosts the tests: https://candidate.speedexam.net/signin.aspx?site=aeco

 

Your SpeedExam log on credentials cannot be used for the members only part of the AECO website!

Lost Password

If you have been registered in the past, please use the Forgot Password?  feature on the SpeedExam test site.

Reference material and resources when taking the tests

When taking the test, the candidate is encouraged to use all available tools and resources, including AECO guidelines and website. Most references can be found in a dedicated “Field Staff Assessment – References” and “Mariners Assessment – References” section under the publicly available “Resources and Tools” menu.

Most questions contain information about which reference document you should consult to find the correct answer. There is no time limit and you can pause a test and continue at a later stage.

Please note that the purpose of the assessment is not to know all the information by heart, but rather to know where you can find relevant information.

AECO Site Specific Guidelines

AECO Site Specific Guidelines are available in this Dropbox folder: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8lfw11639coc6vf/AABfdcBzPKe9BjtbxjKms1bta?dl=0

Please note that AECO Site Specific Guidelines is proprietary information and may not be shared, copied, or distributed to third parties. Non-AECO members are not authorized to use AECO’s guidelines for any official purposes.

Test certificate

Upon successful completion of a test, the candidate can download a certificate to certify that they have passed the test. You need a score of 85% or higher to pass any given AECO test. Forward the certificates to your employer to document that you have passed the necessary tests.

Privacy policy

To give you access to the AECO Online Assessments, AECO needs to store your full name, email address and organisational affiliation. We need this information to create a SpeedExam profile for you so that you can access the exams. In addition, the SpeedExam platform stores information about your exam scores. In accordance with EU’s GDPR regulations, we need your consent to store personal information about you. You can withdraw your consent at any time. Read our full terms and conditions here. If you have any questions, please contact us at aeco@aeco.no.