What were you doing five years ago? The pandemic isn’t so far behind us that we don’t remember when live events were completely shut down. Many experienced and skilled individuals retired or found employment outside the trade show industry. The result, when live events returned, was a wealth of job possibilities for people seeking new opportunities. But what many of us who have been part of the industry for years forget is that jobs in the trade show industry can be daunting, with demanding timelines, intricate logistics, and ever-evolving trends.
This trade show ecosystem is a global phenomenon, and I reached out to an old friend, Jeff Hannah, who has an impressive resume in global exhibiting but has lately been turning his energies to newcomers with his class Trade Show Basics. As Jeff expresses it, “Corporate exhibitors have Certified Trade Show Marketer(CTSM) classes through Exhibitor, but there is nothing for people coming to work at exhibit houses. Most exhibit houses are too small to have regular training programs, and private equity, now a major player in the industry, is not aware of the need for training. What I’m teaching is how the whole industry works, the parts of a trade show floor and what kind of conveniences are available, the venues used for trade shows—a hotel show versus a convention center versus a fairground, and things like that.”
Many people are surprised by the significant contribution of trade shows to the economy. In 2024, according to UFI, the global exhibition industry generated a total output of $398 billion, contributing $233 billion to the global GDP and supporting 4.3 million jobs. Exhibitions also accounted for 4.6 million exhibiting companies, 318 million visitors, and 138 million square meters of rented booths — equivalent to more than 1.5 billion square feet, or an area larger than Paris, almost as large as San Francisco, and equal to the area of Washington, D.C.
Step One: Onboarding—What is It?
Comprehensive training and onboarding are crucial for equipping new talent with the skills, knowledge, and confidence necessary to excel. Onboarding is usually done poorly and is focused on where the bathroom is, where the kitchenette is (if you have one)–and filling out forms; not about ‘this is what the industry is like overall’. “New hires need to understand the nuances of the industry while they connect with their employer,” says Jeff. “I’m trying to give a broader exposure to the entire industry and break it down in an organized fashion.”
The first step in building any community is a common language. The trade show industry has its own language, processes, and metrics for success. Training helps bridge the knowledge gap for newcomers unfamiliar with this unique environment. “I developed a new glossary,” said Jeff, “with 1200 updated words. The last one was decades old and needed to be updated.”
Onboarding should include an overview of the trade show hierarchy, encompassing the various types of companies within the system, including general contractors, show organizers, skilled labor, exhibit houses, and specialized services such as flooring installation. The new person should understand the interconnectedness of all functions—for example, project management, vendor negotiations, site setup, promotional strategies, audience engagement, and analytics. They also need to learn from partners and third-party suppliers and be encouraged to ask for help without fear of ridicule. Onboarding should include a tour of the facility and an explanation of the organizational structure, perhaps introducing the new person to the individuals who fill each role. Assigning mentors who can anticipate questions and share knowledge and experience should be part of the process, and companies should welcome feedback from both new employees and the individuals helping them acclimate.
The industry is fast-paced, and while someone is getting acclimated to the work environment, projects are launching, so training may include hands-on experience. Working with a mentor or a team on a project is invaluable. The industry is large, but it’s run by many small companies.
Future Proof with Training
“If we don’t do more than what we’re doing right now, in five to eight to 10 years, we will be facing a much more difficult scenario in attracting good people. The worst-case is that employers hire people who don’t truly understand what they’re doing outside of their own job,” says Jeff. “And then they don’t understand how one little problem or one thing that they failed to do (because they didn’t take the time to do it) has a knockdown effect on the show floor and costs $5,000 down the road because they didn’t do this one little thing they were supposed to do. And they had no idea it would have such a profound impact. If they had a broader understanding of the industry in the beginning, they would understand. In a Chicago session, I had a member of the carpenters’ union who said, ‘I had no idea that this much went into producing exhibits, that this many people were involved, and what kind of work went into producing them. We get exhibits on the show floor, take them out of the crates, set them up, and then we put them back in. I now have a better framework for understanding when a problem occurs because I have a better understanding of the whole industry.”
Support The Federation and Other Future-Focused Groups
Globally, the event industry is starting to recognize the value in this approach. According to Laura Palker, President and Co-founder, Events Education and Workforce Development Federation, the current opportunity lies with groups like the one she heads up, which has been working on Advanced Career and Technical Education —a framework for careers in technical education that now includes trade shows, events, hospitality, and previously unmentioned sectors.
The Federation also found that approximately 40% of the current trade show workforce consists of professionals who have three years of experience or less. In the US, according to the NAICS codes and O*NET codes, “up until now, we didn’t exist,” Palker says. “Getting that recognition and legitimacy from the North American Industry Classification System codes and O*NET codes is a huge step forward, allowing us to start recruiting people into the industry from an earlier age and addressing the problem more effectively. One of the attractions of our industry has always been the opportunity to learn something new. We are entering an age of unprecedented growth and change. We’ve got the competitive edge. We are nimble, we are masters of ingenuity, and we know how to get things done.”
EDPA’s Future Work Force Committee has been reaching out to guidance counselors and all those who help young people decide on careers, with the message: “Here are 75 different kinds of jobs that you can have if you want to work in the trade show and event industry.” Organizations such as the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) are promoting the importance of educating people about careers in the trade show and event industry. The International Federation of Exhibition and Event Services (IFES) holds master classes in partnership with EDPA.
Most recently, in one of his recent Substack posts, Kai Hattendorf, former CEO of UFI, announced that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) granted the events industry its own standards committee, echoing the work that is being done in the US by the Events Education and Workforce Development Federation, as described above. Hattendorf writes, “The move marks a major milestone in our industry’s effort to be recognized as a stand-alone field, rather than scattered across ISO’s already existing structures. The global events industry now has its own table within the ISO. Members voted to establish Technical Committee 354 – Events, creating a dedicated home for standards and guidance in the sector.”
We need an educated workforce and credibility for our industry to thrive. The future of the live events industry depends on our actions today.
Learn more about the Trade Show Basics class.
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