Meeting Planning Certification - A Faster Track for Meeting Planners?

While on the job training can certainly lead to a highly qualified planner, it might add years of frustration. If you're just starting out, or starting a business as a meeting, event or convention planner, you'll grow faster by having the basic set of industry procedures and terms under your belt.

It's a fact that professional training can also make the difference between landing a job in the industry and being turned away. Some jobs in the meeting planner or event marketing arena list professional training as a requirement, especially in the absence of real-world experience.

Professional training and certification might make the difference whether you or if you are an independent, your business, are selected to organize a professional convention.

Certification can also make for a shorter route to better pay. Certified planners are more easily recognized by industry peers. Finally, you're more likely to receive industry benefits and perks from suppliers.

Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the industry's largest trade group, endorses two certification programs: Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and the newer Certification in Meeting Management (CMM) from MPI. The two are non-competitive, according to MPI. "The CMM is structured to complement the CMP designation. Whereas the CMP is more tactical in nature, the CMM focuses on strategic initiatives and executive decision-making," MPI states on its website. It is also suggested to get the CMP first.

These training programs cover numerous topics in meeting planning, including searching for meeting sites, writing meeting proposals, negotiating, and handling finances. As an added benefit, participants make a host of contacts in the planning industry.

New York University, San Francisco State University, and San Diego State University offer degrees in meeting planning. So do a number of community and technical colleges and schools that offer adult and continuing education.

With a growing track record of placement in the industry, courses of study can certainly complement a motivated individual committed to the field of convention and activities planning.

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