INTRODUCTION

Taking law as a profession is not easy especially when being a fresh graduate and having to

compete for getting a job. There are different areas that are studied in law and the one specially

chosen for this research paper is wanting to be a contract attorney in large companies. So, to

pursue this career, one must be qualified with internationally accredited certification to be

accepted in the fights for job acceptance. One of the most required certificate in Saudi Arabia is

the IACCM certificate. In fact, Saudi Arabia is one of the top ten, holding the sixth position in

the number of individuals getting the IACCM certificate (IACCM, 2018).

WHAT IS IACCM?

IACCM stands for INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR CONTRACT & COMMERCIAL

MANAGEMENT. It is an internationally accepted certificate that helps several business

companies by providing trusted certificates proving the knowledge of an individual in either

contract management or commercial management. It provides three different certification

programs among which only one is related to contract attorneys (IACCM, 2018). These

certifications are:

1) CCM certification program that stands for contract and commercial management. This

certificate is used to certify contract attorneys.

2) SRM certification program that stands for supplier relationship management. This certificate

is used to certify business administrators.

3) Fundamentals of CCM. This certificate is to help business employers understand the

importance of contract lawyers. So, it is not for contract lawyers themselves.

 CCM CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

According to IACCM, CCM provides several great benefits of being a IACCM certified

individual to both individuals who haven’t started a job yet and want to start a career path as well

as already working employers (CCM, 2017). The benefits are described in the following table:

UNEMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS EMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS

 Obtain an internationally accepted  Improve the credentials of the

certificate employee

 Obtain the knowledge required for  Show how committed you are to your

working in commercial organizations work and providing great excellency

 Improve job opportunities in it

 Can easily be accepted in a job for any  Improves hiring state and prevents

large company employee abolition

 Represent how committed you are for  Improved work performance which

your future and provided the best provides a lot of savings to the

possible work results. company.

 Improves your competitive advantage

TYPES OF CCM CERTIFICATION

The CCM certificate is not a course as a whole. In fact, it is further divided into three levels

among which the candidate chooses which to apply to (CCM, 2017). The table mentions these

three levels.
 CCM PRACTITIONER This is a level one certificate that helps teach

individuals the skills required to apply the

principles of contracting.

CCM ADVANCED PRACTITIONER This is a level two certificate that is more

advance than level one and helps individuals

deal with many different contracts as well as

provided experience in advanced contract

work.

CCM EXPERT This is a level three certificate that is further

advanced and is more complex in the

contracts studied. It provides direct

communication with top managers to highly

improve the professionalism of the individual.

CCM CERTIFICATION PROCESS

The certification process provided for CCM practitioner and CCM Advance Practitioner is the

same. However, the CCM Expert is quite different.

CCM PRACTITIONER AND ADVANCED PRACTITIONER

The steps required to apply for either CCM Practitioner or CCM Advanced Practitioner is as

follows (CCM, 2017):

1) Become a member of IACCM by signing in. Then after becoming a member, the candidate

can apply for online registration to the exam.

2) After the registration process, the individual or employer will soon be able join the secure

portal of IACCM after completing the payment. As for companies, after completing the

payment there will a discussion about the program to be launched for them.

3) There are no eligibility requirements for applying to the certification. But instead, an online

test is available as step three to test the skills available for the person and their experience.

The person must mention a skilled person such as a CCM expert or a manager to authenticate

the test. The test is usually completed in an hour or two.

4) According to the test results, the individual or employer will be provided a development plan

emphasizing on the areas where they need to improve. Additionally, they will also be

provided by the highest level they can apply to according to their results. They have the

freedom to choose a lower level, if any.

5) The individual or employer, after choosing the level of certification they will be providing by

its curriculum contents, including audio and visual illustrations, that they need to clearly

listen to. This step usually takes around two hours maximum.

6) The final step is taking the online exam after studying the material. The exam is usually 100

questions that are done in two hours.

7) After passing the exam, if the candidate wants to take the next level of certification, he/she

can only apply after a year of the exam date.

8) A CCM certificate expires after two years, which means the candidate needs to reapply every

two years.
 CCM EXPERT

To apply for CCM Expert certification, the candidate must have the CCM advanced practitioner

certificate. When applying the candidate will take a test to ensure availability of practical skills.

To be qualified to apply for CCM Expert, the employer must provide a case study, which when

approved, the candidate will be asked to develop a commercial case for an institution. If the case

is approved, the employer will have the opportunity of presenting the case to a group of experts

whom heir feedback will be of great assistance. A CCM certificate expires after two years, which

means the candidate needs to reapply every two years. If the candidate wants to take the next

level of certification, he/she can only apply after a year of the exam date (CCM, 2017).

CCM LEARNING PROGRAMS

All levels of CCM certification provide the learning program online through the IACCM secure

portal. The programs are usually studied at a time period of 3 – 12 months according to the

individual, employer or company. However, 12 months is the maximum time provided by the

IACCM to study the program (CCM, 2017).

CONCLUSION

To sum up, having a CCM certification is an amazing opportunity for lawyer choosing contract

as their career path. Since it is mostly recommended in Saudi Arabia, it is an excellent choice for

all contract attorneys wishing to provide excellency in their work and get promoted in the

company they work for. Also, for unemployed individuals, you can easily be accepted in any

company with an IACCM CCM certificate.

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

CCM, I. (2017). IACCM. Retrieved from INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR

CONTRACT & COMMERCIAL MANAGEMENT: https://s3.eu-central-

1.amazonaws.com/iaccmbrochures/IACCM+CCM+Certification+Programme.pdf

IACCM. (2018). IACCM. Retrieved from INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR

CONTRACT & COMMERCIAL MANAGEMENT: https://www.iaccm.com/about/