The Dynamic World of Events Coordination

Are you that creative person that people come to for ideas when they’re throwing a party? Do you have an active imagination? Are you well organised? Do you love the thrill of an event coming together just at the last minute? Do you enjoy working with people? Have you an eye for detail and vision?

If you answered yes to two or more of these questions, chances are you will be a great event coordinator!

Event coordination in SA is becoming more and more popular with South Africa being a sought after destination for many international organisations. Think about the sporting event opportunities such as 2010, the growing film industry and corporate sector. All these people and their companies need coordinators to help them plan and organise their events. On a local scale, event coordination is also high up on the list of favoured careers, with corporates, entertainment, music festivals and sport events all requiring the expertise and professionalism that an event coordinator can offer.

Quinton Meiring, Career Guidance Counsellor from INTEC College lets us in on the inside scoop of event coordination day–to-day:

Am I Suited To Event Coordination?
Take a look at these questions. More Yes than Nos indicate you could have what it takes to be a successful event coordinator!

Am I good with people? Am I able to negotiate organise, delegate and work under pressure? Do I have attention to detail? Am I well groomed and presentable? Have I got good interpersonal and supervisory skills? Am I able to work on weekends and at irregular hours? Am I a good communicator? Do I have passion and energy to see a project through to completion? Am I able to multi-task and stay calm?

Y / N Y / N Y / N Y / N Y / N Y / N Y / N Y / N Y / N

Do I Need Any Skills When Applying To Study Event Coordination?
It would be to your advantage to be a good verbal and written communicator, be able to think outside of the box and solve problems on your feet.

What Career Opportunites Are There For Me?
Event coordination allows graduates to either join established events companies or start up their own business. With so many niches for events such as sports, entertainment, fashion etc you can determine your area of specialisation. Other areas can include assisting corporate companies in team building exercises, planning year-end functions, training course or conference planning.

What Will My Typical Day Be Like On The Job As An Event Coordinator?

• You can expect to meet with clients to brainstorm great ideas about their eventing needs and offer suggestions to make sure their budget is met
• You will draw up budgets and aim to negotiate the best rate for your clients
• You will manage the staff required for a function. This will perhaps involve outsourcing from promotion companies
• You will organise the venue and ensure it is properly set up and a thorough checklist plan has been drawn-up beforehand
• You will oversee areas such as catering, flowers, bar, invitations and additional transport
• You will manage the event’s activities from start to finish and ensure all suppliers play their respective roles
• You will overview the project on completion and arrange payments
• You will find solutions to problems that may have occurred on the job
• You will be hired again for another job if all the above goes to plan!

Where Can I Study Event Coordination?
INTEC College is one of the recommended SA institutions where you can study for your Certificate in Event Coordination. The distance-learning course will allow you to study while you work. Perhaps you could look into becoming an intern in the industry. This way you can gain valuable hands on experience while completing your studies!

The Certificate in Event Coordination will open up a world of knowledge and covers areas such as:-

• Event planning
• Organising accounting and financial management
• Event sponsorships
• Event programming
• Risk management
• Catering management.

Click here for more information and to enrol for this exciting course