Certification Overview
Snapshot
- Online training modules you can complete at your own pace. Take up to 1 year to complete your certification.
- Each module includes a unit test to check your understanding and capture your progress.
- Bi-weekly live office hours give you the opportunity to ask questions, talk to other participants and learn from industry experts.
- Schedule up to 5 fifteen minute SOS calls for personalized support while in the program.
- Demonstrate your skills and knowledge by submitting a contract review project and passing a final exam with at least 80%.
Get Certified On Your Own Time
Have the flexibility to learn at your own pace. You choose when and how to study, as long as you finish the program within 1 year of your registration date. To help you stay on track, we recommend at least 2 dedicated hours per week.
Topic Overview
- Read and comprehend the language within event contracts.
- Include terms that protect your interests and negotiated expectations.
- Manage room blocks configurations and responsibilities.
- Proactively manage attrition.
- Negotiate and confirm premises and function spaces for your events.
- Request and confirm appropriate concessions and complimentary services.
- Understand deposits, billing, and payment processes.
- Discern how to best resolve issues and disputes.
- Differentiate between damages and penalties.
- Negotiate food and beverage conditions, clauses, and terms.
- Understand and interpret the full range of cancellation scenarios.
- Interpret meaning of force majeure and conditions for other unforeseen circumstances.
- Understand the meaning of indemnification for your event, yourself and your clients.
- Anticipate risk, safety, and security contractual terms, and how to apply them.
- Identify MISSING clauses.
Learn to Spot and Negotiate Clauses that are MISSING
CECP ™ certification covers the most common clauses that occur in event contracts. However, it is most often the clauses that are MISSING from the original draft that will create a balanced contract: Force Majeure, Cancellation By Venue, Co-Dependency Clause, and Indemnification.
FAQ
CECP™ is the first industry certification program that focuses exclusively on event contracts (e.g., venues, venues with sleeping rooms, audiovisual, catering and more). Participants will learn what you need to know about contract essentials, negotiation strategies and balanced contracts.
Regardless of your experience in meetings and events, this CECP™ certification is designed to help you critically consider what is presented to you in draft contracts from venues and suppliers, to analyze what elements need to be negotiated into draft contracts, and strategies to negotiate competently and effectively.
The CECP™ program, while available to industry professional worldwide, is based primarily on the industry practices of the Canadian and United States’ meetings and events industries.
For Canadians, the full course fee is $2,297 + applicable taxes (CAD funds). For United States residents and residents of other countries, the full course fee of $2,297 (USD funds) will be charged. In both cases, the fee of $2,297 can be split into two equal payments, however, program access will not be granted until three conditions are met: (1) the program’s application form is completed; (2) the program’s terms and conditions document is signed, and (3) the program fee is paid in full.
The enrolment process for the CECP program is broken into 3 steps.
STEP 1: complete and submit the APPLICATION TO ENROL form found on the homepage of this website – which will be reviewed by the program administrators – and an acknowledgement email sent to you.
STEP 2: the TERMS OF SERVICES document will be sent to you via DOCUSIGN – and it needs to be read and initialed throughout, signed and returned.
STEP 3: upon receipt of the signed TERMS OF SERVICES document, the program administrators will send another email to you that will contain a link to process the full payment for the program – and when notification of payment has been made – your information will be shared with another team member to provide you access to the CECP learning platform.
The CECP™ is a certification obtained once and does not have an expiration date. Additional learning to remain current with ever-changing industry practices and relevant legal decisions is recommended after becoming certified.
Everything you need to successfully complete the certification program is contained within the program. Further resource materials are referenced in the program for additional learning but are not a requirement nor necessary purchase.
The Modules will be learn-at-your-own-pace. Each Module contains a series of pre-recorded videos with captioning, and full slide decks to download as well. To augment the individual learning, this program offers “office hours” two times a month for all going through the program. Office hours will be an opportunity to connect in real-time over zoom with the program instructor, to interact with other participants, get questions answered and learn from the spontaneous discussions.
The enrolment in this program is on-going. You can begin learning in the program when three conditions are met: (1) the program’s application form is completed; (2) the program’s terms and conditions document is signed, and (3) the program fee is paid in full.
The suggested time commitment per week and overall completion time is completely individual. It is recommended, based on your learning needs, that 1.5-2 hours per week of focused time is scheduled. There are 15 modules each with a mandatory quiz, a final exam (90 minutes), and a final project (4-6 hours). It is estimated that participants will take 40 – 60 hours to complete the program. Participants have up to 1 calendar year, from the date of full program payment, to complete the program.
The time allocation for the final exam will be 90 minutes. The exam will feature only multiple choice questions. A minimum of 80% accuracy is required to pass the exam – and one complimentary retake is included.
We understand that seeking funds for professional development can be intimidating. Yet, it is incredibly important to continually seek education in order to support your professional goals and the business goals of your employer. Here is a TEMPLATE that can be adapted to meet your own individual circumstances.
Continuing Education
- After program completion, we recommend you watch for advanced courses offered by Planner Protect™ Inc. to keep up with the latest trends and best practices.