The agreement means members of both organisations will be offered discounted membership of the partner institute. CIPS and ITM will also offer a selection of one-day masterclasses covering both professional procurement techniques and travel-specific category expertise initially in the areas of airline, hotel, travel technology and travel service provision.
Announcing the partnership at its annual conference in Manchester, ITM CEO Simone Buckley said she expects the partnership to enrich ITM members educationally. She added it could enrich them financially as well, noting that in a recent survey conducted by ITM of their Travel Buyer members’ procurement professionals with a CIPS qualification earn on average £10,000 per year more than those who do not.
During a short presentation about purchasing, CIPS CEO David Noble told the ITM audience he would ultimately like to see procurement training evolve beyond educational qualifications into full licensing. “I would very much like to get this profession to a stage where you need a licence to practise – then we will know we have arrived,” he said.
About the new agreement he added:
“Partnership working is essential in today’s business world and we are offering the best of two institutes. Getting good networking opportunities, quality knowledge and insight-sharing can make the difference between being good enough in your job and for your organisation, to striving for excellence. We’re here to help both travel buyers and procurement professionals to do just that.”
The partnership was formed in response to feedback from members of both organisations and will deliver benefits such as knowledge sharing, market intelligence and networking.
