Edinburgh International Conference Centre hosting session to attract talent into £40 billion UK events trade

The Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) is hosting an open day to help encourage more talent into the UK events industry – which it says is now worth more than £40 billion.
From left: Marshall Dallas and Dean Matheson of the EICC. Picture: contributed.From left: Marshall Dallas and Dean Matheson of the EICC. Picture: contributed.
From left: Marshall Dallas and Dean Matheson of the EICC. Picture: contributed.

The venue’s second annual student open day is planned for Friday 4 October, with last year’s attracting more than 350 attendees.

Speakers include Kat Brogan of Mercat Tours and it comes after the EICC launched Scotland’s first master’s degree in business event management.

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EICC chief executive Marshall Dallas said: “This event affords a wonderful opportunity to gain insight from a line-up of key industry representatives, who will showcase the diversity of Scotland’s events sector. Business events industry is a fast-growing segment of the Scottish economy but there can often be something of a knowledge gap in terms of the available opportunities and we’re looking to address that.

"The master’s degree we run with Edinburgh Napier University is one of the only courses of its kind in the UK and that is another part of our commitment to developing the next generation of individuals who want to fast-track their way in the business tourism sector.”

The original idea for a student open day at EICC was developed by sales executive Dean Matheson.

He said: “After the success of our first open day in 2018, we’re looking forward to building on that success this October with our 2019 event, where a diverse speaker line-up will once again highlight to students the various avenues open to them in this exciting industry”.

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The EICC opened in 1995, with its remit to drive economic impact to the city. To date it has boosted the local economy by around £600 million while hosting more than one million delegates and 3,000 events. The EICC is owned by the City of Edinburgh Council and operates at arm’s length as an independent commercial venture.