How To Run The Show

Sun Herald

Sunday May 13, 2007

By Harriet Cunningham

WILL the projector work? Will it make budget? From parking to signage to toilets, there are always a thousand things to think of when putting on an event.

During the past five years event management has undergone a rapid development from being an add-on chore for PAs and marketing departments to a fully fledged business discipline. Whether it is throwing a private party or putting on the Olympics, events are big business and demand for managers with specialist skills is growing rapidly.

"It's a hot area," says Rob Harris, senior lecturer in the School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism at the University of Technology, Sydney, "and Australia is perceived as being one of the centres of expertise in event management."

Harris is director of the Australian Centre for Event Management (ACEM), which creates the programs at UTS and developed the original TAFE diploma in event management.

ACEM delivers courses in Edinburgh, London, Singapore, Malaysia and Beijing, where its master's program is supported by the Beijing Olympic Games Organising Committee. ACEM's master's program is the largest of its kind in Australia, with 100 students, half of them from overseas.

Many event management courses are springing up as private colleges, universities and TAFEs scramble to meet the demand. The Carrick Institute of Education and Martin College have introduced event management modules into their business diplomas. These articulate into degree courses at a range of Australian universities.

Trish Powers, course co-ordinator at the William Blue School of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Management in North Sydney, is thrilled by industry reactions to the newly launched diploma in event management.

A key feature of the course is the partnership with the Global Rock Challenge, and participants are guaranteed two weeks as full crew members at a Rock Eisteddfod and a regional CrocFest event.

"It's an unbelievable opportunity for event management students to get on-the-job experience and make useful industry contacts to further their careers," Powers says.

The diploma of event management at the International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS) is a two-year course that includes nine months of paid industry training. One recent graduate, Jonathan Leggett, has worked on the NSW Cancer Institute awards and was invited to assist on an international conference in Beijing.

The ICMS is affiliated with Macquarie University, and by adding a third year, students graduate with a bachelor of business from Macquarie. As for career prospects, ICMS general manager Andrew Leary says there are at least three job vacancies for every graduate.

ICMS, Carrick, Martin and William Blue offer midyear enrolments to their diploma courses, and UTS offers midyear enrolments to its master's program, plus a six-day executive certificate in event management. Many of these programs will be on show on May 16 at the 2007 Student Insights Forum at Sydney's Darling Harbour.

Major event to manage: an advanced diploma

EMMA Hanson is a single mum with three children. She has just started the advanced diploma in event management at Northern Beaches TAFE - and she's loving it.

"I couldn't ask for better teachers and most important is that they are available to us 24/7," Hanson says.

Aside from modules including business relations, sponsorship, protocol, volunteers, staging and design, the course has provided chances to work on events ranging from music festivals to the Harbour Bridge 75th birthday celebrations.

"I was responsible for setting things on fire," she says with a grin. "There was an Aboriginal smoking cleansing ceremony performed in the evening, with 90 bins set out along the Harbour Bridge, burning for about 20 minutes."

She also worked on crowd control at Seniors Week - "they're not too rowdy".

"My kids think it's fantastic. They say, 'Mum's gone back to school.' It's given me heaps of confidence and my chances of getting back into the workforce will be greater.

"There's always going to be some sort of event in Sydney. It's one industry with a guarantee of growth."

© 2007 Sun Herald

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