Those who are already GCMA Accredited will need to renew within the submission window by updating their CPD record with an additional 40 Accreditation points earned over the previous 12 months.
Golf Club Managers are being encouraged to take part in the GCMA’s Accreditation programme to ensure they are demonstrating their true value, with the submission window opening next week.
GCMA Accreditation recognises skills, achievements and professional development and offers the chance to be rewarded through a series of accreditation levels.
The programme is open to any GCMA member who is in an active golf club management role, providing a clear development pathway for people at any stage of their career.
Those who are already GCMA Accredited will need to renew within the submission window, which opens on May 1, by updating their CPD record with an additional 40 Accreditation points earned over the previous 12 months.
Show your true value
“It’s a tool through which Golf Club Managers can record their experience, skills, knowledge and achievements, along with their ongoing commitment to personal and professional development, in one place,” said GCMA CEO Tom Brooke.
“It enables them to accurately represent the value that they bring to the industry and to their golf club as a highly qualified, knowledgeable, valuable Golf Club Manager.
“GCMA Accreditation can benefit anyone — from highly experienced industry professionals to those just starting out. It’s a great career pathway tool for new and up-and-coming Golf Club Managers to start mapping out their professional journey and identifying opportunities to expand their skills and knowledge, and how we as an association can help guide them on that journey.”
A straightforward, but detailed, online form will capture all the necessary information and, by providing a complete career history and a summary of roles undertaken in the golf industry, along with an up-to-date record of qualifications, professional development and learning, you can apply for one of four levels of accreditation.
GCMA Accreditation Levels
• GCMA Aspiring Manager is suitable for those new to the profession, or currently in a position as a Department Head or Assistant Manager and keen to develop their careers
• GCMA Accredited Manager (Level 1) is aimed at those with a minimum of three years’ experience in a golf club management position and typically at a small to medium-sized club
• GCMA Accredited Manager (Level 2) will be suitable for those managers at medium to larger sized clubs with five or more years’ industry experience
• GCMA Accredited Manager (Level 3) will recognise those highly experienced and accomplished managers who have been in the role for 10 years or more
• A further level, GCMA Senior Leader/Master Manager, will open for applications from 2025
A flexible and inclusive programme
GCMA Accreditation does not discriminate on where your qualifications and professional development were obtained or how you have chosen to develop yourself professionally. Any relatable industry qualification or certificate, plus degrees and higher education courses, will all be recognised through a comprehensive points matrix.
Learning of a more informal nature can also be captured within the programme, whether that be attendance at GCMA regional meetings, industry conferences, webinars, online learning or any number of other learning and development experiences.
“The programme is flexible and it’s inclusive,” added Brooke. “We all come from hugely different backgrounds and found our routes into golf club management and it has evolved considerably as a career over the past 20 years in particular.
“Up until the launch of this programme in 2022, there had been no one way of capturing that and of accurately informing the employer and the industry of what that individual is capable of and what they’ve achieved.”
An annual review process encourages accredited managers to build their skills and keep them up to date with their own professional and personal development as well as industry best practises.
Brooke said: “I’d like to think our programme is unique. There are some fantastic accreditation programmes already out there. Our point of difference is that we are looking to capture that full range of skills, knowledge, and experiences and offer a full accreditation pathway.
“But, equally, with the way the CPD points matrix works, there’s a way of capturing not just GCMA-led education and professional development but anything you do that can relate to one of the five professional practice standards categories that we’ve included as part of the accreditation framework.
“Anything around those business skill sets that you can relate to your role in golf club management we will look to capture within that CPD matrix and that will all help towards your accreditation.”
Key dates for 2024
This year’s submission window opens on May 1 and closes on June 30, but that is not the only time that members can or should engage with the Accreditation platform, as Brooke explained.
“It’s important to stress that while there’s a two-month window for people to submit their accreditation for review, the platform itself is open 365 days a year for them to go and use; the only requirement in that 60-day window is to hit submit — all of the other work, including updating of CPD records, skills, knowledge, achievements etcetera, can be done 365 days a year.”
If you are already GCMA Accredited and are looking to renew, you must do so within the submission window by updating your CPD record with an additional 40 Accreditation points earned over the previous 12 months.
Five reasons you should become GCMA Accredited
• When applying for a job, it will differentiate you from other candidates
• It demonstrates that you keep your knowledge and skills up to date through continuous learning and development
• It highlights an eagerness to learn which indicates future potential
• It will help to boost career progression and salary prospects
• It provides recognition of your skills, knowledge and achievements by your peers and the golf industry
