IAEE to conduct job analysis for exhibit management

The International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) has announced that it has selected Prometric, a provider of technology-enabled testing and assessment services, as its job analysis partner to develop the exhibitions and events industry’s first definition of core competencies in the exhibition management field.

The job analysis is a set of procedures designed to obtain descriptive information about the tasks performed within a specific profession and the essential knowledge and/or skills needed to competently perform those tasks. Since the practice of exhibition management has many unique aspects, IAEE will work with Prometric to define those characteristics within each identified job function.

“This unprecedented initiative by IAEE will provide thousands of exhibitions and events industry professionals a standard for their chosen careers,” said Steven Hacker, president, IAEE. “At the direction of the IAEE Board of Directors, the decision to invest association resources in this analysis is particularly important at this time given the ever-changing nature of the industry and the impact of technology, the environment and the economy on it.”

By using a survey-based job analysis, a large sample of subject matter experts (SMEs) will provide essential insight through observations, interviews, literature reviews and focus groups to create a solid foundation for IAEE education, the CEM Learning Program, The Art of the Show textbook and additional learning platforms.

“Conducting a thorough job analysis is the single best thing an organization can do to build a strong foundation for an educational program,” said Bill Murtagh, senior vice president of client services and sales at Prometric. “Prometric’s expertise in this area of test development is well known and unmatched. We are excited to work with the IAEE to conduct a job analysis for the exhibition industry to support the development of education and to strengthen the CEM Learning Program.”

Promoting exhibitions abroad
In keeping with its mission to promote the unique value of exhibitions and other events that bring buyers and sellers together, the IAEE recently participated in the National AMPROFEC (Mexican Association of Exhibition Organizers and Conventions) Congress in Cancun, Mexico. IAEE continually supports industry associations in promoting the face-to-face value that exhibitions and events provide.

Former IAEE Chair Patricia Farias Barlow, CEM, conducted an IAEE Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM) conclave in which 10 U.S.-based CEMs participated.

“In my 30 years of industry experience and participation in multiple industry meetings, I had never had the opportunity to spend three days of nitty-gritty sharing of differences between such a select group of industry CEM experts,” said Barlow. “This conclave, open only to CEMs, provided hands-down proof of the importance of certification for Mexican professionals in their careers and the global opportunity of sharing best practices with their U.S. colleagues. We are very pleased with the results and are definitely going to organize this again.”

The CEM program in Mexico has yielded 125 graduates to date, who join the more than 1,000 total CEM graduates worldwide.

Industry collaboration efforts will continue as IAEE joins ASAE, ESCA and SISO in hosting the Exhibition Industry Summit to be held October 6, 2011, at the Irving Convention Center in Irving, Texas. Among the organizations that will be invited to participate in the summit meeting are the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR); the Corporate Event Marketers Association (CEMA); the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI); the Exhibitor Appointed Contractors Association (EACA); the Exhibit Designers and Producers Association (EDPA); the Healthcare Exhibitors Association (HCEA); the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM); the International Center for Exhibitor and Event Marketing (ICEEM); the International Exhibition Logistics Associates (IELA); the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA); the Trade Show Exhibitors Association (TSEA); and organized labor involved in the industry.