State of the UK Events Job Market.

With the coronavirus pandemic causing havoc across the entire events industry many people have found themselves in a difficult situation unfortunately losing their jobs. Whilst event organising companies should do their utmost to retain staff either through furloughing or working reduced hours sometimes financial pressure leaves few options. 

Some financial aid packages have been available through government schemes or with other industry bodies for some time and events companies should be maximising these benefits. As a last resort some companies are laying off staff, however once skilled talented people leave it is incredibly difficult and costly to recruit replacements once business picks up again.

For this pool of talent coming onto the job market what are the prospects for the future as we go into 2021 with large scale events not likely to resume until later in the year? All is not lost for those seeking employment, a quick scan of events related positions in the UK posted within the last month on LinkedIn shows 1,917 vacancies. Whilst this is a broad search it includes events managers, coordinators and events marketing roles for example across a range of locations and industries. It's tough looking for work in the events sector right now and the job search process is not going to be easy particulalry with increased competition for active roles.

Potential candidates can improve their chances by being active in the job market and maximising their industry contacts. They should also understand their transferable skills and look into roles or sectors they have not considered previously rather than sticking to their specific role and industry sector. Employers are also keen to see what potential candidates have been doing during these quiet months so learning new skills and self-training will also add value. The smart events companies are making the most of this period to strengthen their events teams and recruit talented people who have now come onto the job market. Being positive and looking forward to a prosperous future by building resources is a sensible path to take.

Staff retention should be the priority for events companies facing financial difficulties and they should explore creative ways to cut unnecessary expenses and avoid freezing all business activities. When the industry recovers, hopefully during 2021, the events companies who have spent 2020 strengthening their teams, building resources and improving their infrastructure are going to be best placed to take advantage of what could potentially be a booming industry by late 2021.

As well as building great teams event companies should look at other factors that can improve their business efficiency with good disaster recover policies in place to ensure they are fully prepared for the next unknown phenomenon that will adversely affect the events industry. 

For events companies looking for an efficient event software management platform they need look no further than FestivalPro which has all the functionality they need to seamlessly implement a winning event. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The FestivalPro platform is easy to use and is particularly helpful for events companies taking on new staff with a large range of online tutorials to get new staff up and running quickly dramatically reducing the onboarding period.  

Photo by Isaac Taylor from Pexels

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