The Power of Events calls on businesses across the UK events industry to open their doors as the second stage of its Future Event Professionals mission officially launches.
The Power of Events has officially launched its Experience of Work Programme at the Business Design Centre, setting an ambition to create around 1,500 opportunities for young people to experience the UK events industry first-hand during its first year.
The launch was supported by organisations from across the events industry, with the Business Design Centre as Venue Partner, Neg Earth Lights as Event Sponsor, RefTech as Registration Partner, WeIMPLEMENT, Event Hosting Partner, The Good Eating Company as Catering Sponsor and Max Event Photography supporting photography.
The programme launches with significant industry backing already in place. Approximately 50% of the first-year ambition has been pledged through industry associations including PLASA, PSA, AEV, mia, ABPCO, HAE and the Purple Guide, providing a strong foundation from which to take the programme nationwide.
The Power of Events is now calling on its community of supporters and businesses from across the events industry to help deliver the next phase by hosting their own Experience of Work opportunities during 2027.
A Toolkit model shaped in real events workplaces
The national launch follows a programme of pilots designed to test the Experience of Work Programme across different parts of the events industry.
Experiences have been delivered with organisations including The O2, PLASA, THE•TEAM and QEII Centre, exposing young people to different workplaces, roles and routes into the sector.
This real-world testing has helped shape the model now being rolled out nationally, from the way young people interact with host teams to the practical guidance provided to participating businesses. The Power of Events has produced a Toolkit designed to remove the main barriers to host businesses – it provides:
- A step-by-step guide to creating a customised Experience of Work
- Planning templates and example activities
- Guidance on safeguarding, H&S and accessibility
- Support with school liaison / programme delivery
- Consistency for feedback / impact measurement
- Alignment and compliance with Equalex, Modern Work Experience and Gatsby Benchmarks
From inspiring young people to opening the industry’s doors
Experience of Work represents the second stage of The Power of Events’ Future Event Professionals mission.
Rather than traditional individual work experience placements, participating organisations host structured experiences for groups of young people from local schools for a half or full day.
A young person could find themselves behind the scenes at a venue, inside a production warehouse, meeting an agency team, experiencing an event build or discovering the technical, creative and operational roles involved in delivering a live event.
The aim is not simply to tell young people that careers in events exist, but to enable them to see the industry, meet its people and understand where their own interests and skills could take them.
Halfway there. Now the industry is being asked to help deliver the rest.
With approximately half of its 1,500 first-year opportunities already pledged pre-launch, The Power of Events is now inviting its wider community of supporters to become Experience of Work hosts in 2027.
Rick Stainton, CEO of The Power of Events, said:
“We’ve spent the past year working with industry and schools to build and test a model that can work in the real world. Now we’re ready to take it nationwide.
“To have around half of our first-year ambition already pledged before launch shows the appetite across our industry to make a difference. But 1,500 opportunities will only happen through collective action. We now want businesses from every part of the events industry to think about what they could offer, open their doors and help a young person see a career they may never have known existed.”
Businesses interested in hosting an Experience of Work in 2027 or supporting the programme can contact Sophie Beasor, Head of Operations and Engagement at The Power of Events, at sophie@thepowerofevents.org
Inspiring them is the first step. Now let’s show them where a career in events could take them.
