Ashfield Meetings & Events welcomes largest intake of students in seventh year of undergraduate placement scheme
Ashfield Meetings & Events, the largest full service event management agency specialising in serving the healthcare sector, has this month welcomed its largest intake of students to its highly successful university placement scheme.
The scheme, now in its seventh year,
provides undergraduates with the opportunity to blend their educational theory
with vocational insight and experiences through a year-long work placement at
the company. It’s gained a reputation for being one of the best in the industry
thanks to its global reach, breadth of event types and award-winning training
programme.
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In March, students from various
universities across the UK were invited to Ashfield Meetings & Events’
headquarters in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, to take part in a rigorous assessment
process. During their visit, the students gained insight into the business, had
a tour of the facilities and participated in group exercises, Q&As and individual presentations.
Seven
students were selected for this year’s scheme – the largest intake to date,
reflecting both Ashfield’s continued growth and its dedication to training the
next generation of event planners. The seven will now join various departments
across the company to play integral roles within their subsequent teams. The
students selected were; Emma Preston (Sheffield Hallam University), Nadine
Thring (University Of Plymouth), Catriona Dick (Sheffield Hallam University), Jemma
Aylesbury (Sheffield Hallam University), Grace Tufnell (Leeds Beckett University) join the
agency as Project Administrators whilst Skye Peat (Sheffield Hallam University)
joins as a Venue Sourcing Administrator and Ellie Taylor (University Of Lincoln)
joins as Junior 3D Designer.
Helen Capelin (Head of Operational
Excellence) said “We recognise that although the academic background is
important, employees learn vital skills ‘on the job’. Our undergraduates
completed a week long induction where they all demonstrated their enthusiasm
and eagerness for joining our agency and industry, so we’re very pleased to
offer these valuable placements to these lucky candidates.”
“We collaborated with Sheffield Hallam
University earlier this year to give students insight into our business and the
process of competing for new business in the events industry,” Helen continues.
“It was fantastic seeing how engaged and enthused the students were during the
project and of course, even more so having them pro-actively apply for a
placement year with us.”
In addition to the new recruits,
Ashfield Meetings & Events has recently welcomed back previous placement
student Rebecca Crabbe as Project Executive. Six others have also returned to
full-time permanent roles after completing their university studies since
launching the scheme.
Helen Capelin commented: “It is a huge
compliment to the company and the scheme to see students re-join our agency
after they finish their studies. We’re thrilled Rebecca has returned and we
look forward to helping her flourish within our organisation.”
Ashfield Meetings & Events and its
sister brand SPARK THINKING continue to place a strong emphasis on connecting
and strengthening relationships with academic institutions. Earlier this year,
the agency also launched its ‘SPARK Inspo Club’, a joint initiative with a
Nottingham-based primary school which aims to encourage the creative confidence
of Year 6 pupils.
Helen Capelin adds: “We pride
ourselves on delivering flawless meetings and events on a global basis and
exposing our know-how to the students will be instrumental to their future
careers in event management. But the scheme is also hugely beneficial to us as
a business. We encourage our undergraduates to share their recent learnings,
new ideas and fresh approaches to event planning, and it’s this that enables us
to stay at the cutting edge of the industry for our clients.”
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Contact
Website
Address:
Ashfield House
Resolution Road
Ashby de la Zouch
Leicestershire
LE65 1HW
UK