Chairman of the ICFM, Roddy Graham said: 'We have not had a membership fee rise since April 2006 and Council did not consider it appropriate, given the critical focus on all costs within our industry, to raise fees at this time.'

He added: 'Besides delivering externally accredited vocational qualifications, our focus on Council continues to be on delivering added value services to our members and initiatives over the past year such as the launch of a new website and introduction of a quarterly e-newsletter are tangible examples of this achievement.'

Current ICFM membership fees are as follows:

Affiliate – AffICFM
Affiliate membership is £20 per year plus a one-off application fee of £20.

Associate – AICFM
Associate membership is £45 per year plus a one-off application fee of £20.

Member – MICFM
Full membership is £55 per year plus a one-off application fee of £20.

Fellow – FICFM
By invitation. Membership reduced from £80 to £65.

Mr Graham added: 'Membership continues to represent excellent value for money and the increased professionalism within the sector demonstrates the vital role the ICFM has to play in ensuring members in turn deliver added value to their employers.'