MEA urges industry to invest in education
MEA urges industry to invest in education
Meetings and Events Australia (MEA) has warned the industry to “wake up” and realise the importance of education and training to prevent a skills shortage which is looming over the events sector.
While skills shortages have been an ongoing concern for the meetings and events industry, MEA chief executive Linda Gaunt said the topic is again gaining pace as the industry continues its post-GFC recovery.
Despite an abundance of enthusiastic young workers, she said there was a concerning lack of experienced staff with adequate qualifications to fill advertised positions.
And she says the trend will worsen without further investment in education and training.
“Not a day goes past that I don’t have members asking for help with skills shortages,” she told The Nibbler. “There’s no shortage in work, but employers are finding that very few people with good workplace experience and qualifications are applying.”
Noting that indistinct entry requirements had largely contributed to the problem, Gaunt said more focus on education and upskilling staff was crucial to break the trend.
“With no barrier to entry, the events industry hasn’t got a good history of training and education. But the industry needs to wake up and realise that if they want to be seen as a professional industry, they need to invest in staff training,” she said.
Responding to the call, MEA has launched a new training organisation with the sole focus of training students for the events industry.
The Australian Events Academy, offers a range of short courses in event management and professional development training, and a nine month advanced diploma program.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
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