PROFESSIONALISM , SKILLS AND QUALITY
DO WE NEED PROFESSIONALISING ?
Caroline Jackson Vice Chair - BVEP Chair - AEME
In my role as vice chair of the BVEP I have undertaken the challenge of reviewing the current activity relating to the event industry ’ s professionalisation . We are now part of the GREAT campaign and Nick de Bois , chair of the Events Industry Board , calls for us to ‘ step onto the [ world ] stage ’ and be counted . We could argue that we have already done this with events such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 , the Rugby World Cup 2015 , Glastonbury Festival of Performing Arts and the Farnborough International Airshow . However , these are celebrated for their sporting , cultural or trading successes but less so for their event management strengths . Our own industry awards , for how well we have performed , are hidden in the pages of our event magazines and websites . How do we get recognised and rewarded for the contributions we make to successful events , however large or small ?
One of the proposals has been for the development of a professional body specifically for the event sector . If this is the solution , then there are a number of initiatives that need our support and utilisation , such as the nascent Institute of Event Management , the National Occupational Standards for Events , the Trailblazer Event Apprenticeships and the revised Higher Education Subject Benchmark Statements for Events . Any professional institute needs the industry to fully support it in a number of ways and not just financially . In the first instance different parts of the industry need to come together to contribute to and give feedback on what they would expect of each level of certification and membership . Qualification frameworks do exist globally as well as in the UK , which can be used as a basis for agreement . These then need to be adopted as a benchmark for employment and progression within the industry . Membership recruitment and support for accreditation will be difficult to acquire if the industry itself does not demonstrate that this is something that they value . This has not proven to be an easy task in other allied sectors such as Tourism , Hospitality and Sport and Physical Activity .
Alternatively , people are also reluctant to say publicly that they do not agree with the creation of a professional institute . After all , why would anyone say that they would not want events to be a profession nor themselves a professional ? We however need to understand what professionalisation means to us and whether we are already professionalised . Being the academic that I am , I have turned this into a research project to better understand the motivations and future aspirations of those that make up our diverse industry . The history of professionalisation shows us that the path to professional status is not an easy or a short one . So , what is it that we want or need as an industry ? The traditional model of professionalisation , of a single professional institute with a common body of knowledge and set of qualifications , has been questioned because it is not necessarily suitable for contemporary or future environments that are more globally connected and responsive . We are aware in the Association sector , as in our own organisations , of the challenge to maintain and engage members and to justify the pro-bono activities that we undertake for
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