Freddie Rand , event manager at Finextra Research , talks young talent in events

his 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 .

“ All companies / individuals could do more to help drive interest in the industry amongst future graduates and soon-to-be graduates .”

Freddie Rand

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 . CN