SAACI NEWS

The delegate economy

Growing the next event professional.

By Glenton De Kock, chief executive officer of SAACI.

The IMEX - MPI - MCI Future Leaders Forum, a dedicated youth-focused business events forum, was recently held at Meetings Africa. Several members of the SAACI Youth Council, and a selection of top students from various South African and African academic institutions, attended the business events forum. The Future Leaders Forum is a unique and free opportunity for students to gain expert insight into the business events industry, learning from and connecting with inspirational industry experts and fellow students.

As an association, SAACI and its members are experiencing a challenge in finding skilled event professionals to deliver meetings and events. We, as an association, understand the need for much needed training and skills transfer to the next generation.

This balance of getting both done simultaneously, is one that we are all seeking, through a workable solution.

Hence, the SAACI Youth Council, which is working with the tertiary institutions in South Africa in preparing the final year students, that have shown great interest and promise, to build a career within the meetings and events industry.

Ensuring workplace readiness has always been a matter of concern. Industry members have expressed this as one of their challenges, once the students arrive for workplace training. We know that this is where a significant amount of time is spent, to the extent that the actual training only commences when the students are placed with a company and battle to find that balance of delivery, while learning, as they are working on a meeting or event.

SAACI calls on all experienced professionals to join SAACI in being part of the solution, by creating a process with the tertiary institutions and students on how to best prepare the students for workplace absorption.

As an association, we understand there are financial and practical challenges in every industry and organisation. However, the future of the events industry needs to include a game-plan to engage and attract next-generation participants.