Freddie Rand, event manager at Finextra Research, talks young talent in events.
This industry is fantastic, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It’s resilient, rewarding and most of all, it’s sociable. That’s what brought me to industry when I was deciding what degree to do at university. I studied event management at university after toying with the idea of doing computer science and I am incredibly glad I went down the route I did.
Back in 2012, when I went to university, the industry was booming and opportunities were aplenty to get experience in the events world before I graduated in 2015. However, I don’t feel like those opportunities are available to event graduates now, we need to offer these to continue the cycle of great talent joining
the industry every year.
I believe this is because of the post-Covid-19 fallout we are still experiencing and the uncertainty around future government interventions resulting in the cancellation of events or shifting back online.
On top of this, I know my university no longer runs my degree, which shows the appetite is waning even within A-level students to take on event management degrees.
There are already some great industry advocates who shout about the brilliance of this industry, but maybe all companies/ individuals could do more to help drive interest in the industry amongst future graduates and soon-to-be graduates.
How to nurture young talent
Let’s open up more mentorships, contact universities offering support for aspiring event managers and start targeting those A-level students and show them what a great industry this is. We need to demonstrate why either doing a degree in event management, or something similar, or gaining experience instead of a degree in the events industry would be a fabulous choice for them.
Most importantly, let’s speak internally within our companies about offering more internships to those students, who are finishing university or are looking for placements. Because, if those positions aren’t open, and they finish their degrees, they may get snapped up into a different industry, and we will lose their talent.
