The Event Service Professionals Association (ESPA) has long served as a forum for convention service managers (CSMs) and event professionals, providing valuable networking and educational resources to more than 500 members for over 30 years. Now, it’s coming to the aid of those displaced from their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nearly 4 million hospitality jobs were lost in 2020 as a direct result of the pandemic, according to a report from the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and the industry is not expected to regain pre-pandemic job levels until 2023.
[Related: How to Battle the COVID-19 Career Blues]
To do its part to help, ESPA recently announced it will hire a small team of experienced, out-of-work event service personnel to develop a training and certification program for the event services field.
“Our members are among the hardest hit by the pandemic,” said ESPA President Julie Brakenbury, who is
director of destination services for North Carolina’s Greater Raleigh CVB. “We have decided to be part of the solution by investing a portion of our reserves into our membership in the short-term and beyond. Together, we will emerge better.”
ESPA will tap into the expertise held by displaced event service professionals to craft a new training program, providing them with compensation for a short-term contract project. The work also gives those event professionals another item to add to their resumes for future work in the hospitality industry.
According to ESPA, the curriculum for the Convention Services course will provide foundational training for individuals new to event services, or experienced professionals returning to the industry. The course will include an optional capstone project that will be used to certify participants.
ESPA also believes the programs will help the association in several more ways, including:
- Expand the member value proposition.
- Support member organizations if faced with less experienced services staff post-COVID-19.
- Serve as a tool for recruitment.
- Create a non-dues revenue stream.
- Help the association be recognized in the events industry as the leader for event services education.
- Provide the CSM profession with standards, build communities and enhance ESPA’s reputation in the industry.
Interested in applying? Applications are due April 23. Learn more about the project.
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