Denver - The Global
Business Travel Association on Tuesday announced the GBTA Academy, a new
institution offering a three-tiered educational certificate program and a
certification process for the new Global Travel Professional designation.
Though it will continue to support those who achieved GBTA's pre-existing
professional designations, the association will issue no new CTE, STP/SBTP, CCTE,
CGTE or SMMC certificates. Those with such designations become members of the
GBTA Academy.
"Like the move from NBTA to GBTA,
the academy will have a global focus," said GBTA dean of education Amanda Cecil. "We will promote global best practices and deploy our model in many
GBTA regions." Cecil added that the GBTA Academy will offer travel
management education related to government, strategic meetings management,
sports and other areas.
The academy's three certificate tiers
are associate, manager and leader. Designed for those with less than three
years of industry experience, the associate level will focus on "the
basics of business travel management," according to GBTA. CTE and STP/SBTP
certificates are deemed to be equivalent to the associate level certificate. The
first two courses will focus on fundamentals and sports travel management, both
offered online starting in September and in traditional classrooms starting in
October.
Kicking off in early 2012,
the manager level focuses on "how travel is integrated into the
ever-changing global business environment" and is recommended for those
with three to seven years of experience, according to GBTA. "It covers
such topics as stakeholder management, contract negotiation, traveler safety
and security and influencing organizational change," Cecil said. This
program will be delivered by the GBTA Academy and academic partners, including the
University of Virginia Darden School Of Business. CCTE, SMMC and CGTE certificates
are deemed to be equivalent to the manager level certificate.
GBTA Academy's leader level
"concentrates on business strategy" and "the opportunities and
challenges of conducting business in today’s global environment." It will
be offered through the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business,
along with the Global Leadership Professional designation program which GBTA
will continue to offer as part of the leader level.
Meanwhile, the Global Travel
Professional designation can be achieved by passing an exam "used to
measure proficiency in the competencies of the business travel profession,"
according to GBTA. Exam applications will be available next spring and the
first exam will be administered during GBTA's 2012 convention in Boston.
According to Cecil, the GBTA
Academy "will be accredited by the American National Standards Institute
and the International Standards Organization."
She said that all those with CTE,
STP/SBTP, CCTE, CGTE or SMMC certificates are "encouraged to continue using
their designations. We will continue to allow those people to retain their
credentials."