SACEOS ramps up initiatives to attract talents and to encourage professional development. Photo Credit: SACEOS
Attracting talent will be key to the recovery of business events in
Singapore. This is according to findings from Singapore Association of
Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers’ (SACEOS)
membership satisfaction survey, which were revealed at its 43rd
Executive Committee Meeting, held last month at the Marina Bay Sands.
SACEOS is looking to address the gap in talent, and is conducting
webinars on talent attraction and mental wellness. It has also partnered
with academia in Singapore such as Singapore University of Social
Sciences (SUSS) to contribute to the modules for its Degree Programme in
Events Management, as well as Singapore University of Technology and
Design (SUTD) in developing innovative business models for the industry.
“With the pandemic inflicting a massive talent loss in the industry,
attracting talent back to the industry will be among the impending
challenges facing MICE businesses as they gear up for the return of
large-scale events,” said Richard Ireland, president of SACEOS.
“As MICE continues to reopen, manpower issues will only be further
accentuated. Therefore, there is a need to come together as an industry,
rather than as individual companies, to coordinate our efforts in
repositioning MICE as an attractive and inclusive industry once again.”
Ireland added that sustainability is another key issue top-of-mind for event organisers, as the industry continues to recover.
“Now more than ever, it’s critical for industry players to
collaborate by sharing data, experiences, and innovation from our
respective efforts in driving sustainable practices and reducing the
carbon footprint of business events,” he said.
Other key focus areas identified included SACEOS being the key voice
of industry discussions with stakeholders such as government agencies,
industry partners and the media; ensuring a continued dialogue; and
collaboration with local agencies and peer-to-peer networking.
SACEOS said that as they move into a more normalised environment in
2022 with the easing of event restrictions, “it looks forward to
organising more physical events for the community to reconnect and forge
new business opportunities”.