Job Competency Analyses of Entry-Level Resort and Commercial Recreation Professionals

This is the author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Wilfrid Laurier University Press. The Journal of Applied Recreation Research is succeeded by the journal, Leisure, which is published by Taylor & Francis.This study was initiated by the Resort and Commercial Recreation Association (RCRA) in an attempt to determine the feasibility of a national certification program for resort and commercial recreation employees. Current national recreation related certification programs do not adequately address the needs of current commercial recreation employers (Gladwell & Beeler, 1993). A basic question of the job competency analysis were if a basic “core” of entry-level job competencies existed, and if it did could be identified, across the wide spectrum of resort and commercial recreation professional entry-level positions.\ud The objectives of this study were to identify entry-level job competencies for professional members of RCRA; then, rank order the entry-level job competencies, as determined by a Delphi group, according to their importance to entry-level job performance. The Delphi group consisted of RCRA members that represented entry-level, middle management and upper management.\ud Entry-level job competencies were developed through a two-phase research design. First, entry-level job descriptions were collected from RCRA organizations (N=89) and analyzed using Word Cruncher TM, a computerized content analysis program. Lists of 103 job qualifications were identified. Next, the Delphi Technique was initiated to rank-order the job competencies identified in the WordCruncher TM content analysis. The results from the Delphi study, after three rounds, identified nine major competency domains with a total of 52 specific entry-level job competencies.\ud The General Accounting Office (1993a) predicts that skill standards and certification would “help employers identify qualified workers, save money on applicant screening, aid in recruitment and improve public perceptions of firms.