EIC在IMEX America发布Pathways计划助力会展人才发展

Skift Take

The Events Industry Council’s new Pathways initiative aims to create new opportunities for the entire industry — from entry-level professionals to senior-level leaders. It comes at a time when many planners worry that their current skills will be obsolete within the next few years.

The Events Industry Council (EIC) is battling the talent shortage with a new initiative to help students, beginners, and experienced planners develop their skills, grow their networks, and find job opportunities.

Announced during IMEX America, Pathways is the next step in the EIC’s Vision 2030 commitment to advocacy and workforce development.

The EIC’s Futures Landscape Study, released last year, identified “talent and workforce development” as one of the most important forces shaping the future of business events, with 75% of respondents saying it is very or extremely important to the industry’s future. Almost half of respondents (46%) said they believe that their current skills will become obsolete over the next few years, and the same percentage said they would be likely to leave their employer if opportunities to upskill were not available. And behind the organization’s research is another tough reality for the industry: A lot of event planners are walking away from jobs due to low pay and overwhelming workloads.

New and Existing Career Resources 

Pathways is organized around four stages of the professional planner’s journey: Discover, Develop, Advance, and Lead.

At the Discover stage, the EIC is working with members and industry partners to introduce students and emerging professionals to the various careers available across the business events industry. This includes the APEX Future Workforce initiative, which brings high school students to major events industry gatherings to experience the sector firsthand and network with event professionals.

For those developing their skills, the Career Pathways section of the EIC website includes the extensive collection of APEX Accepted Practices resources, which are being modernized into more interactive and accessible tools, and translated into several languages.

The EIC’s Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) international standards and exam were also updated last year after a multi-year process involving more than 1,000 volunteer subject-matter experts, Developed in 1985, the CMP now has fresh content and questions aimed at making it more globally relevant.

The Advance stage of Pathways translates work readiness and recognized industry credentials into the CMP Work Readiness Certificate to provide working professionals an earlier entry point into the CMP.

For job hunters, the EIC Career Center includes a job search function, which listed 28 roles with the “meeting planner” title and 37 roles with the “event planner” title when this article was published. For employers, various pricing packages for job postings range from $275 - $1,925.

As part of the Lead segment of Pathways, the EIC is creating expanded opportunities for volunteer ambassadors and mentors to share their expertise with emerging planners and participate in reverse mentoring.

“Pathways is not one program,” said Amy Calvert, CEO of the EIC, during a press conference at IMEX America. “It connects the work already happening across EIC and our global community while helping us identify where we can be more united and impactful.”

Are you looking for a new role in the meetings industry? Learn more about the trends shaping the current job market to increase your odds of success in finding the right position.