MEA ramps up training programs

Meetings & Events Australia (MEA), the peak body for suppliers to the meetings industry, is ramping up its educational services, with its registration to become a Registered Training Organisation imminent.

“Meetings and event management requires excellent financial mangement, interpersonal skills and a willingness to work hard when circumstances demand it,...”

The strong Australian economy in recent times has created boom conditions for the industry and MEA currently has some 1,800 members in Australia keen to ensure their slice of the pie. Robust trading conditions fuel meetings and live events and create a flow-on effect within a labour-intensive industry. Linda Gaunt, the newly arrived chief executive, says MEA has been running annual residential courses for the past 15 years, with senior members of the industry giving their time and experience to educate the next generation of newcomers and more senior people in the ways of the business.

“Meetings and event management requires excellent financial management, interpersonal skills and a willingness to work hard when circumstances demand it,” she says.

“MEA’s next major development is our accreditation as a Registered Training Organisation. It is our intention to be registered by mid 2006, with many of our professional development programs being upgraded to a Diploma in Event Management from January 2007. We are currently self-assessing our resources and ability to do this and ensuring government approval.”

This initiative will see MEA as a Private Training Provider delivering nationally recognised qualifications, or units of competency, which must be recognised by TAFE colleges and other private training providers around the country.

“This means the skills you learn at MEA are transferable. MEA as the peak industry body for meetings and business events will deliver industry-relevant education, which also articulates the vocational education and in the future, the higher-education sector,” says Gaunt.

Hotels recognise that their reputations for excellence in event management can have a significant benefit on the overall financial performance of the enterprise. Well-planned and delivered conferences can smooth out the seasonal troughs that occur when inbound business, corporate travellers and leisure guests are scarce.

“There’s no doubt that event management has come into its own as a career choice, and not simply something that people in the hospitality or airline industries fall into by chance,” says Gaunt.

“We have no desire to have a ‘me-too’ membership. Energetic and committed hospitality executives have long been the backbone of our association and have helped ensure the high standards that have led Australia to gain its reputation for excellence in the organisation and management of events.”