West Midlands scheme brings young people into events careers

A short four-day course is taking place this Easter, hosted by youth charity The Prince’s Trust, in collaboration with local event crewing company, Crewsaders, and leading Birmingham-based event venue, ICC Birmingham.

The ambition of the short programme is to deliver key insight and training into the practical aspects of event crewing; equipping young people with new skills and experience that they perhaps wouldn’t have received otherwise.

All candidates who have secured a place on the ‘Get Into Events’ course will acquire new skills and career guidance. Some of the youngsters will also get the opportunity to undertake job placements with Crewsaders following the course.

Anthony Bell, Youth Development Lead at The Prince’s Trust said: ‘With the increase in events now taking place, the young people on the programme are able to see first-hand how a career in the events sector could be a reality for them in the future. They are able to develop practical skills such as teamwork and the foundations of crewing an event, while also gaining insight into the many roles within the events industry. The young people really enjoy the experience of working alongside staff at Crewsaders, who are supportive and inspiring in equal measure.’

Calum McConnachie, Operations Director at Crewsaders, addresses the challenges that have presented themselves in the aftermath of the pandemic and specifically the barriers which young people face on accessing a career in event crewing:

“Once the pandemic hit, the events industry lost a lot of its key ancillary workers. It’s fair to say now that live events are bouncing back with as many projects being planned over the next year as before the pandemic struck. With that said, there is an imbalance of work to workers and there needs to be real focus on harnessing young talent to rebuild a strong network of event professionals from grassroots up. We have found there to be very few educational pathways into events beyond apprenticeships yet even these are disproportionate to the number of opportunities that can be offered immediately.

“By crafting the Get Into Events programme alongside The Prince’s Trust and our social value partners, we wanted to create a meaningful pathway for unskilled youth to enter events in an accessible and practical way. We’re incredibly proud of what we have created and hope that we can inspire others across the industry to develop similar programmes with youth charities across the country.”

The young people taking part in the Get Into Events Programme range from 18-30 and come from a wide and diverse spectrum of backgrounds. All currently unemployed, not in education or training but with the commonality that event crewing is an interesting prospect to them, really opens up the potential of what could be achieved.

The ICC Birmingham is supporting this initiative whilst identifying the potential of the ‘Get Into Events’ programme and what it could mean for opening the doors to new industry talent.

Allan Boyle, General Manager, NEC Group Conventions, said: “The live events industry is a fantastic pathway for young people keen to find a vocation and develop practical life skills. However, we often struggle to get the word out about how to start in the sector. Hosting courses like these with our partners brings the events industry to life for young people, turning it into an accessible option which can become an exciting career.”

To find out more about the ‘Get Into’ programmes visit The Prince’s Trust website at prince-trust.co.uk or call 0800 842 842.

For more information on careers with the ICC and NEC Group, visit: careers.necgroup.co.uk