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MENTORING PROGRAM: FOSTERING NEXT-GEN EVENTS TALENT
Fostering next-gen events talent
The Australian events industry is developing its leaders of tomorrow through association mentoring and education programs, writes Hannah Tattersall
In 2023, Oakley Grioli undertook a two-day in-person leadership course run by the Australian Business Events Association (ABEA). The course involved two in-person sessions followed by a one-on-one mentoring session, where the 27-year-old learned communication skills, how to manage difficult conversations and discussed events industry issues such as burnout.
There’s some great talent out there we want to foster and bring through the ranks.
“It was great to connect with people my age, who are at my career level, to hear their challenges, the opportunities they have and to workshop them together,” says Grioli, who works for communications and marketing agency Zadro, which handles public relations for ABEA. “We also went through techniques to build confidence and [learn] different leadership styles.
“The principles I have learned – dealing with clients, managing different personalities and how to communicate – have been really useful to apply in everyday work life.”
ABEA and other associations and organisations such as Meetings and Events Australia (MEA), Professional Conference Organisers Association (PCOA) and Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) are investing heavily in fostering the next generation of workers in the 229,000-strong Australian events industry.
With many workers leaving the events and hospitality sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry is set on finding new ways to retain talent, and mentoring the next generation of emerging leaders is key.
ABEA chief executive officer Melissa Brown says such courses are not only beneficial for young staff starting their careers, but helpful for emerging leaders in middle management.
“There’s some great talent out there we want to foster and bring through the ranks,” she says. “It’s critical work because those who left the industry during the pandemic seem to be predominantly from the middle management area so there’s a lot more need for emerging leaders and younger cohorts to get up to speed to fill that gap. The industry also presents a huge opportunity for them.”
In addition to ABEA’s “Leading Well” course, undertaken by Grioli, the association runs an “Emerging Leader’s Special Interest Group” and an “Education, Skills and Pathways Special Interest Group” which focuses on career development and opportunities.
Giving people the right experiences early in their careers is invaluable, says AIME marketing director John Wilson. AIME recently introduced two programs geared to help new entrants to the business events sector develop their careers.
The “Accelerate Program” assists junior members with less than five years’ industry experience by enabling them to shadow a more experienced staff member. AIME’s “Next Steps Program” gives three event undergraduates the opportunity to work in each department at AIME, giving them on-the-job experience in operations, sales, marketing and PR.
Australia’s longest running events industry association, MEA, has the catchphrase, “lead, power and connect” and chair Vanessa Green says it tries to bring those three elements into everything the organisation does.
Green, who is also chief executive of Cliftons Event Solutions, became involved with MEA through its three-month mentor program.
“We take on 25 people each time as mentees and mentors, and try to connect people in relevant areas,” she says. “There’s a focus on developing young people and young talent within the industry … it’s about providing a sounding board and some guidance and ideas on what’s next.
“It’s really nice to see people learning and growing and providing a bit of help along the way.”
MEA also runs webinars twice a month with professional speakers. Keynote speaker Nick Abrahams recently discussed cybersecurity and AI, while another webinar had speaker Sally Foley-Lewis talking about how to approach difficult conversations.
Another concern that frequently pops up among those working in the events industry is how to deal with burnout and stress. After all, it’s an industry that often requires long hours and late nights.
“Events is one of the most stressful industries you can probably be in because it’s either all on or not,” says Green. “In fact, earlier this year, we ran a session in the knowledge sessions about unleashing your superpower, which is managing stress in the events industry and how to keep thinking rationally under high pressure.
“There is a lot of burnout suffered. That’s why programs such as MEA’s mentor program are important – it’s providing access and information to people on the effects of working in an industry that is always changing.”
PCOA president Barry Neame agrees.
“Managing and being involved in conferences and events inevitably means it is not a nine-to-five job,” he says. “One of the core objectives of PCOA is to provide educational activities for members to ensure there are the appropriate skills and professional development opportunities to futureproof the sector as it grows.
“That’s even more important today than when we went into COVID-19. We’re much more focused on providing a holistic curation of education for people to ensure they have the right skill sets, particularly now the industry has moved along with social media.”
PCOA runs official events – a recent interactive session for early career attendees was titled “Things You Need to Know: Navigating the Events Industry” – and organises unofficial mentoring opportunities for members.
“We’ve buddied people up in different organisations and offered mentoring around the fine-tuning of relationships and communication skills,” says Neame.
The events industry’s focus on mentoring and fostering talent is clearly having a positive impact on the sector, which is currently thriving, contributing an estimated $36 billion to the Australian economy annually.
Brown says working in business events is varied and exciting work, and that it’s an industry in which you can make an impact.
“Yes, you may need to work late sometimes, but if you want to do something different each day and you thrive in new environments, love meeting new people and being creative, busy and getting things done, it really is a great industry,” she says.
“That’s why so many people love working in business events, despite the high pressure. You could be running a medical conference or giving back to the environment. In business events, you are working on things that have a great impact.”
