At VEI’s monthly focus group, event organizers discussed the impact of digitization on talent. Here are six emerging trends to watch out for in 2021 and beyond.
1. There have been significant changes in the events industry for those with project management and technical skills. Production, design, and creative skills have become more important with digital events. Events must be designed with intent, rather than pivoting.
2. There is a need for solid project management skills more than ever before. This isn’t being embraced in traditional companies at the moment as they would usually put ops in the driving seat rather than sales or production. Collaboration tools are becoming more essential to event planning.
3. The basic principles of event management have not changed that much, but there has been a steep learning curve of new tools and systems. As every event platform is different, there is a need for virtual event management skills, and a need to upskill and develop existing talent.
4. There is a lot of talent to be found in the freelance AV community, and also highly relevant skills from people who have worked in TV, theatres or on live shows of any kind. It may be useful for event organizers to hire a TV producer or show caller with a TV background to help design events for the small screen.
6. There is uncertainty over what extra skills will be needed for hybrid events and how to meet future resourcing needs. And many organizers are finding there is a wide technical skills gap among event management graduates.
These ideas were shared at VEI’s recent focus group, which was attended by senior event professionals globally, including Nelita Groppa, event project manager, DXM Event Management; Elaine Benitez, account manager, ViewStub; Catherine Oates, managing director of Fastmarkets Events - Euromoney; Larna Jackson, founder of Event Options; and Emma Hilditch, content director of VEI.
VEI is upskilling the next generation of event professionals. To find out more about our training program, please contact info@virtualeventsinstitute.com or visit our training pages on our website.
For more information on where to find expert freelancers, please visit Soundings Connect or contact hello@soundingsconnect.com.