EICC paves way for a career in £40bn UK events industry
2nd annual Student Open Day takes place on 4 October 2019 at EICC
Industry trends indicate growing numbers of skilled jobs in hospitality
EICC CEO Marshall Dallas said : “Business events industry is fast-growing segment of economy but there is a knowledge gap we’re looking to address.”
EICC runs Scotland’s only Masters Degree in Scotland in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University
Edinburgh, 26 September 2019 – the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) is paving the way for a career in the UK events industry – which is now valued at over £40 billion (with the conferences, meetings, incentive travel and exhibitions segment at approximately £21 billion according to BVEP research in 2017) – with its 2nd annual Student Open Day planned for Friday 4th October in Edinburgh.
Attended by over 350 people in 2019, this year’s event again aims to educate students from schools, colleges and universities about the opportunities available across the industry. Industry trends indicate that despite growing numbers of skilled jobs in hospitality, the level of knowledge about these opportunities is low.
Students will be taken on tours of the venue after listening to a line-up of guest speakers from the industry – including Kelly Johnstone of Springboard, Kat Brogan of Mercat Tours and Bill Thomson of Hello Scotland – followed by a Q&A.
In partnership with Edinburgh Napier University’s Business School, the EICC launched Scotland’s first Master’s Degree in Business Event Management in 2017 and welcomed its third cohort of students onto the course this year.
Marshall Dallas, Chief Executive of the EICC, said: “This event affords a wonderful opportunity to gain insight from a line-up of key industry representatives, who will showcase the diversity of Scotland’s events sector. Business events industry is a fast-growing segment of the Scottish economy but there can often be something of a knowledge gap in terms of the available opportunities and we’re looking to address that. The Master’s degree we run with Edinburgh Napier University is one of the only courses of its kind in the UK and that is another part of our commitment to developing the next generation of individuals who want to fast-track their way in the business tourism sector.”
The original idea for a student open day at EICC was developed by Dean Matheson, Sales Executive at the EICC and a graduate of Events Management from Edinburgh College. Commenting ahead of the EICC’s second annual student open day, Dean said:
“After the success of our first open day in 2018, we’re looking forward to building on that success this October with our 2019 event, where a diverse speaker line-up will once again highlight to students the various avenues open to them in this exciting industry”.
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