EEAA launches campaign to encourage school leavers to chose careers in events

The Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) has launched a campaign to encourage school leavers and early career professionals to choose “a career for life” in business and consumer events.

The new campaign, which includes a video and booklet featuring the career stories of 10 young professionals working in the sector, was launched to an audience of senior industry and government leaders at the Association’s 2018 Global Exhibitions Day and Leaders Forum Dinner to mark on Global Exhibitions Day (#GED18) this week.

EEAA Chief Executive, Joyce DiMascio said the campaign targeted career advisors, teachers, parents and students and was the next step in the Association’s active agenda to feed the employment pipeline and ensure the sustainability of the sector over the long-term.

DiMascio advised “we are pleased to deliver the next phase of our effort to reach school leavers and encourage them to consider a career in business and consumer events. We have recently worked with Apprenticeship Support Australia and TAFE NSW to develop new industry traineeships for school leavers that address specific shortages and we’ve also exhibited at careers expos to reach this audience.

“These communications tools will be used on social media and in our ongoing work with careers advisors, teachers and parents of students to position jobs in our sector as ‘careers of choice’.”

A career for life tells the stories of 10 industry professionals who have found a home in business and consumer events – by design or by chance. Together, they paint an inspiring picture of opportunity, creativity, satisfaction and achievement, highlighting the diverse range of job roles, industries and pathways to fulfilling careers in the sector.

The 10 individuals profiled in this campaign are:

• Libbie Ray, General Manager/Co-owner, AV 24/7
• Stewart Buchanan, Managing Director, Clever Event Technology
• Nick Vanzetti, Managing Director, ESL Australia
• Stephanie Bleakley, Marketing Manager, Diversified Communications
• Guy Blomberg, Global Gaming Content Director, ReedPOP
• Christine Kotsis, Business Development Manager, ExpoNet
• Craig Mather, Onboarding Specialists, Ungerboeck International
• Dean Forrester, Head of Technology and Innovation, Asia Pacific, Informa Australia
• Millie Heslop, Operations Manager, Exhibitions and Trade Fairs
• Brittany Monaghan, Event Planner, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

DiMascio added “we are helping to shine a light on the opportunities for fulfilling and lifelong careers in the exhibition and event industry.

“Finding people with the right skills for jobs in our sector is an ongoing challenge and we are committed to working collaboratively with our local and global partners to help address these shortages and build a strong and sustainable industry into the future.”

EEAA President, Spiro Anemogiannis, said that the EEAA Board had identified a focus on building skills and labour as a key priority in the Association’s Five-year Strategic Plan.

Spiro Anemogiannis added “te growth of the industry is directly linked to this – we need the staff to grow our businesses and to leverage the potential of our sector.

“We have some excellent partnerships with the education and training sector and we look forward to building on this work in the future.”

In 2016, consultants EY estimated the industry in Australia contributed just over $30 billion in direct expenditure, $13 billion in direct value add and nearly 200,000 jobs to the Australian economy. Globally, the exhibition sector is home to over 680,000 jobs and attracts over 260 million visitors to its 31,000 trade and consumer shows.

Di Mascio concluded “events are powerful marketplaces for doing business and pursuing special interests and a big part of our professional and personal lives. Each year, exciting new showcases are created in emerging industries, such as space and satellite technology, drones and cybersecurity, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, health and medical devices.

“They provide, and will continue to provide, a wide range of exciting and diverse career opportunities for a broad range of skillsets.”

 A career for life is just part of a comprehensive program of activity the Association delivered for #GED18, including aligning the Association’s signature annual events to the global campaign (EEAA Leaders Forum, Conference and Global Exhibitions Day and Leaders Forum Dinner), a social media campaign and government advocacy campaign.

Federal Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Mark Coulton; NSW Minister for Tourism and Major Events and Assistant Minister for Skills, Adam Marshall;  Shadow Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events, Penny Sharpe; Business Events Sydney Chairman, Bruce Baird and Director of the Australian Chamber Business Leaders Council, Paul Nicolaou were among the attendees at the launch event.

Images: 10 people, 10 different careers image (clockwise from top left: Libbie Ray, Stewart Buchanan, Nick Vanzetti, Stephanie Bleakley, Guy Blomberg, Christine Kotsis, Craig Mather, Dean Forrester, Millie Heslop and Brittany Monaghan), Joyce DiMascio (middle) and a career for life campaign image (below).

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