Six Countries Achieve European Education Level System Recognition From Confederation of Professional Golf3 min read

The PGA of Denmark, PGA of Holland, PGA of Italy, PGA of Norway, PGA of Poland and PGA of Spain are the latest Confederation of Professional Golf Member Countries to achieve European Education Level System (EELS) recognition of their professional education programmes.

Following extensive analysis and assessment, these National PGA organisations have had their programmes levelled within the EELS system, with all six achieving the highest level – the ‘PGA Professional Level’.

“We are very pleased to have officially recognised six of our Member Countries within EELS,” said Director of Education & Membership for the Confederation of Professional Golf, Tony Bennett. “This marks a milestone within each of the organisations to show that their education is internationally recognised in-line with the other countries and the Confederation of Professional Golf’s framework of education standards, all whilst ensuring it is locally relevant to their Professionals and the market they will be working in.

“Importantly each of the PGAs have demonstrated their commitment to ensuring that professionals who come through their education programmes are well prepared to serve the market. Through the Association’s guidance, Tutor Training and Mentoring programmes, and direct delivery of the IPE programme, we are able to foster this development across our entire membership.”

In 2013, EELS replaced the European recognition model that had been in place since the early nineties, and seeks to recognise Member Countries’ education programmes for their curriculums (breadth and depth), delivery (quality of education materials / workshops by Tutors or Trainers), the learning environment and methods of assessment (type and robustness).

Focusing on the three domains of teaching and coaching, the game and the industry, the system allows programmes to be mapped against 72 agreed Learning Outcomes (LOs). The number and areas in which these LOs are currently met determines what level of recognition their programme achieves, with the ‘PGA Professional Level’ meeting all 72 LOs, the ‘PGA Coach Level’ meeting 38 specific LOs, and the ‘IPE Level’ meeting all 13 IPE-specific LOs.

Representatives from the PGAs were presented with certificates during the 2018 Annual Congress at Costa Navarino in Greece, and were able to share some of their thoughts around the recognition and what it means to their PGA.

“We have been through a lot of work, building a complete new PGA-education system the last seven to eight years,” said Head of Training for the PGA of Norway & Norwegian Golf Federation, Anders Thelberg. “EELS gave us some extra focus on learning outcomes and standards of the Confederation of Professional Golf as we built this system. It also made us more aware of how education must be delivered to maximise learning, and allowed us to map and to match the learning outcomes of the PGA education with other organisations that we cooperate with such as universities and the confederation.”

“This recognition is one of the most important things that has happened to our PGA and to Spanish golf…it is historic,” said PGA of Spain Head of Training, José Vicente Pérez. “This recognition has been possible thanks to the work of Enrique Martín Durán and his team at the education department of the Real Federacion Española de Golf (RFEG), and it is the fruit of our collaboration. We are extremely happy for the bright future that our professionals will have.”

Enrique Martín Durán, Real Federacion Española de Golf Director de Formación, added: “This work has not only helped to establish and consolidate an Official Certificate endorsed by the Ministry, but has achieved a program aligned with the standards of content and quality demanded by Confederation of Professional Golf at their highest level. We want to thank the support and trust that the PGA of Spain has placed in us, and especially its president, David Pastor and its director of education, José Vicente Pérez, who have closely followed the project”.

For more information visit http://eur.pe/EuropeanEducationLevelSystem