The Club Managers Association of Europe (CMAE) has announced the introduction into Europe of an internationally recognised professional qualification for club managers.
The Certified Club Manager (CCM) qualification will be open to all managers – including general managers and club secretaries, senior executives and directors of golf, golf maintenance and agronomy professionals, and food and beverage managers – and is set to become an industry benchmark.
“This is good news for managers who, for the first time, will have a professional qualification recognised throughout the European club industry,” said Jerry Kilby, CMAE chief executive officer. “Managers who aspire to be among the best in their profession and aim to develop their careers will benefit significantly from this qualification.”
To become a Certified Club Manager, candidates will first have to demonstrate a specified level of professional qualification and experience, before attending a two-day review and examination that focuses on ten key club management disciplines, including financial, leadership, facility, and food and beverage management.
The Club Managers Association of America (CMAA), whose own CCM qualification has set the standard in club management education globally since 1965, has endorsed the new, specially developed European programme, and has officially recognised it as an equivalent qualification.
Speaking at the two associations’ joint conference (the Business Management Institute) at St Andrews earlier this month, Jim Singerling, CEO of the CMAA, said, “This is a very exciting development for the international club industry. Club owners and operators will be able to identify high quality individuals of different nationalities with a benchmark professional qualification to bring to their businesses.
“Together with similar initiatives currently being discussed in the Far East and South Africa, this is an important step in creating a globally recognised professional standard for club managers.”
Joe Perdue, academic advisor to the CMAA, said, “I am impressed with the content and quality of the European CCM. It specifically addresses the challenges and needs of European club managers, within an international perspective, and we are delighted to endorse it and recognise it as an equivalent to our own CCM qualification.”
The European CCM allows managers to undertake continuous professional development within their own associations and countries, or via the CMAE’s own training programmes, gaining the knowledge and experience they will need for certification.
John McCormack, CMAE president, said, “This is a huge step forward for club managers and the CMAE. Accountants, lawyers and other professionals have their own qualifications – club managers will now have their own qualification, too.
“Whether you are a club manager in the UK, Scandinavia, Ireland, France, Germany or any other European country, you now have the possibility to gain a qualification that will be recognised and respected across the Continent and, importantly, in America, too.”
The first candidates are anticipated to take the CCM qualification in October 2008.
For more information about CCM and to download full details of the certification programme, visit: www.cmaeurope.org