Professionalization

Professionalization, also called credentialism, is the social process by which any trade or occupation transforms itself into a true "profession of the highest integrity and competence." This process tends to result in establishing acceptable qualifications, a professional body or association to oversee the conduct of members of the profession and some degree of demarcation of the qualified from unqualified amateurs. It is also likely to create "occupational closure", closing the profession to entry from outsiders, amateurs and the unqualified.

The process of professionalization creates "a hierarchical divide between the knowledge-authorities in the professions and a deferential citizenry." This demarcation is often termed "occupational closure", as it means that the profession then becomes closed to entry from outsiders, amateurs and the unqualified: a stratified occupation "defined by professional demarcation and grade." The origin of this process is said to have been with guilds during the Middle Ages, when they fought for exclusive rights to practice their trades as journeymen, and to engage unpaid apprentices. It has also been called credentialism, a reliance on formal qualifications or certifications to determine whether someone is permitted to undertake a task or to speak as an expert. It has also been defined as "excessive reliance on credentials, especially academic degrees, in determining hiring or promotion policies.". It has been further defined as where the credentials for a job or a position are upgraded, even though, there is no skill change that makes this increase necessary

Professions also possess power, prestige, high income, high social status and privileges; their members soon come to comprise an elite class of people, cut off to some extent from the common people, and occupying an elevated station in society: "a narrow elite ... a hierarchical social system: a system of ranked orders and classes."

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