CIC Announces International Standards for Certified Meeting Professionals

October 11, 2011

Since the inception of the Certified Meeting Professional Program (CMP) in 1985 to designate meeting professionals as CMP certified, the Convention Industry Council has updated the meeting standards, known as the CMP Blueprint, every five years. The next iteration of updates will go into effect in January of 2012 and renames the standards to the CMP International Standards (CMP-IS).

Aside from routine updates and enhancements, the CMP-IS will include internationally relevant best practices and provide a greater level of detail when describing and categorizing industry knowledge, ability and skills. Meeting professionals will see more thorough explanations but not sweeping changes to the standards. Much like the outgoing CMP Blueprint, the CMP-IS will serve as the comprehensive body of knowledge, or the competencies required to be successful in a profession, for the meetings industry. These competencies are identified through a job analysis process, and this resulting document guides the development of the CMP examination.

“Given that more than 14,000 meeting industry professionals from 46 countries have earned the CMP designation, globalizing the standards was a natural progression,” stated Karen Kotowski, CMP, CAE, CEO of the Convention Industry Council. This effort was made possible by support from one of CIC’s membership organizations, Meeting Professionals International (MPI).

“To have a globally relevant certification administered by a respected organization means a great deal not only to our volunteer advisors and leaders who have contributed to this initiative, but also to the thousands of members and colleagues we have around the world,” said Bruce MacMillan, President and CEO of MPI, “And the alignment of the Meetings and Business Events Competency Standards further solidifies the relevance of the CMP designation world-wide.”

CIC partnered with the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) to incorporate findings from their Event Management International Competency Standard with findings from Meetings and Business Events Competency Standard supported and developed by MPI, aligning the existing body of knowledge with international standards. This will be critical for the countries that use the CMP program to qualify their workforce.

To coincide with the adoption of the CMP-IS, CIC will also offer computer-based testing in the second quarter of 2012. With the new test computer based test format, meeting professionals will have access to more than 10,000 testing facilities in 166 countries, globally increasing the reach of the program.

The CMP International Standards will go into effect after the January 2012 CMP exam. For examinations through 2011 and up to and including January of 2012, the guiding document will remain the CMP Blueprint. For individuals seeking CMP recertification after January of 2012, applicants will complete continuing education associated with the CMP International Standards.

Supplemental study materials for the CMP exam will be available by January 2012 and a complete list of upcoming exams dates and deadlines can be found at www.conventionindustry.org. 

For more information and a downloadable copy of the CMP-IS, visit the CMP-IS section of the CIC web site.

Convention Industry Council

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