The Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) has announced the Hon. Stuart Ayres, MP, minister for jobs, investment, tourism and western Sydney will join its members at a special event to address skills-related and operational issues affecting the business events industry. The minister will present the keynote on 29 March at the ICC Sydney.
Claudia Sagripanti, EEAA chief executive said the Association’s Skills and Operational Rebuilding Strategies Exchange will be an important platform for sharing with the minister the issues facing the industry and in particular, how these affect the ability to hold events in New South Wales.
“We are pleased that Minister Stuart Ayres will join this important opportunity to discuss the skills shortage and the current state-of-play in business events given the events of the past 12 months,” she said.
“Apart from the minister, we will hear from a panel of key industry leaders from our community as well the Restaurant and Catering Association and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry,” Ms Sagripanti added.
“Our panel will address issues associated with staffing and skills. We’ll address which skills are in short supply and the industry’s appetite for micro-credentialling. We’ll also consider whether there is a need to reskill, cross-skill and upskill. These are all important areas that require leadership and focus if the industry is going to fully recover and get back on its feet and flourish again in the future.
“There is a lot of knowledge to be shared and we hope to identify opportunities that will help to make our industry stronger. There may be scope to implement operational efficiencies and share resources and skills sets across all sectors of the industry and make formal recommendations to Government.” she said.
Spiro Anemogiannis, president of the EEAA added that, although industry has had a very tough 12 months, there are now strong signs it is rebounding.
“The timing for this exchange is excellent and having access to a most senior minister in the NSW government is very positive. We encourage the industry to take this opportunity to come together for these important discussions and collaboration.
“I invite the business events industry to join us to discuss short to medium-term measures to help rebuild and the business events industry in New South Wales.” Anemogiannis said.
The EEAA event is free to attend event and is supported by ICC Sydney. Registrations are available here.
