The South African-based Association of African Exhibition Organisers (AAXO) is set to start providing Certified in Exhibition Management® (CEM) online training and certification to African exhibition practitioners with effect from next month. This was announced last week by the association.
“AAXO in conjunction with the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), we will be bringing the internationally recognized CEM® into Africa. The training will consist of eight online courses and the first course will commence in February 2020,” said the association in the statement.
The exhibitions body explained the objective of the training as deepening exhibition personnel’s mastery of their industry.
“The CEM® programme is an educational programme first, and a designation programme second. The programme is cultivated globally through the IAEE. The programme is an eight-part adult learning and certification programme designed to provide industry professionals an in-depth understanding of the overall operations of the industry. The CEM® designation is a globally recognized designation that demonstrates the highest professional standard throughout the exhibitions and events management arena,” AAXO said.
Some of the modules of the course include conference and meeting management, consumer show management, event marketing, event operations, exhibition and event sales as well as strategic planning and management among others.
The admission criterion for the programme is three years of full-time experience in the exhibitions and events industry.
According to AAXO, CEM® is the peak professional standard for event managers while Certified Event Company (CEC) is the peak professional standard for event companies.