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Events
EVENTS PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
MAY 2022
Scaling up fast for the return of events Finally, events are booming again, but there’s still a lot to unpack before a return to ‘business as usual’.
President’s message
BY ERIN JOHNSTON, HRIA, EVENTS DIVISION PRESIDENT
This month, the Adelaide Convention Centre throws its doors open to the HRIA community, two years after it was forced to shut due to COVID-19. The hire industry has shown enormous resilience in the light of the pressures brought on by the global pandemic and while many members, who have feet firmly in the construction and mining camps, have grown through the last 24 months, members in the events sector faced near total closure, and there’s a mountain to climb with the expectation that the events industry can simply turn the taps back on.
Staff shortages
Events in focus
The biggest issue facing event and party hire companies right now is how to scale back up to meet surging demand. Successfully maintaining assets during the downtime is being put to the test as we see our assets being re-deployed, so safety must be the number one priority. Many wedding bookings have been delayed through the pandemic, and we’re seeing a surge in mid-week ceremonies since there are still only 52 weeks in the year. This puts added pressure on businesses whose employees are effectively delivering double the number of weddings or events each week. This high demand for insane turnaround times on equipment, coupled with the staff shortages, are certainly presenting our industry with new challenges and forcing us to all think on our feet to evolve and make the most of the demand while also looking after our teams and maintaining a high standard. This trend no-doubt has knock-on implications for stock, so addressing supply chain issues will also be an emerging problem. However, we remain confident that the industry can adapt to new working methods, and I encourage all HRIA event members to join us at HIRE22 where we can voice these challenges and share our tips on how to manage the next phase of these testing times.
A major focus for the Association in the coming months and at HIRE22 is assisting the events members as the sector begins to crank back to life. “If the travel industry has taught us anything recently it’s how challenging reopening the market can be,” said James Oxenham,
Events employees are effectively delivering double the number of weddings or events each week. HRIA’s CEO. “While there’s no magic bullet for managing the surge in demand, we know that offering support through a network of peers is a good place to start.” At HIRE22 the HRIA will be hosting a workshop, lunch, and tour of Adelaide Oval for events members. “We’re working hard to encourage suppliers back the convention, but we’re honest about the hurdles facing members in this sector.,” said Scott Mundy, HRIA Operations Manager. “The markets are getting stronger again, and products are in short supply. We want members to use the show as a forum to let the HRIA and its partners know about their biggest challenges so we can help.”
Pre-Covid, around 250,000 casual jobs were filled every year by overseas labourers via the 300,000 working holidaymaker visas distributed annually. In March 2021, there we just 160 overseas visa worker arrivals. Since the Federal Government re-opened the borders, student and wokring visa holders have started to return to Australia in the tens of thousands, giving hope to the sectors that rely on casual labour to deliver their events.
Scaling back up
Register for HIRE22 online at hire22.
