Review and Analysis of the New International Meeting and Business Events Competency Standards

Abstract

The global meetings and business events profession has grown into one of the largest worldwide industries and yet it had not formally defined the role of its professionals. This evolution and maturation in the areas of meeting and business event management led to the development and release of an internationally recognized and accepted set of competency standards. In 2011, the first ever globally recognized set of competencies—knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs)—required of meeting professionals called the Meeting and Business Event Competency Standards (or MBECS) was published. This set of competencies focused solely on those professionals interested in careers planning and producing meetings and business events. It is uniquely distinct from those required by the lodging, food and beverage, transportation, or other segments of the hospitality and tourism industries. In this article the authors review the development of the standards, outlines the competencies covered in the standards, and describes the rationale and benefit of using these standards by various stakeholders.

KEYWORDS:

• meetings
• competencies
• standards
• meeting profession
• meeting education