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- Student volunteering at conferences...
Student volunteering at conferences and business events
Enlisting local student volunteers can provide valuable support to ensure smooth running of your conference while providing important work experience for the visitor economy workforce of tomorrow.
It creates benefits for students and event organisers, as well as the wider business community. Offering local students the chance to support the delivery of your event in North East England will help build their skills and confidence as they prepare for their future careers.
Roles and responsibilities could include customer service, logistics, time management, scheduling, registration management, room monitoring, recycling monitoring and marshalling.
There are several colleges and universities in the North East which deliver tourism, events and hospitality courses. Some colleges also have faculties in digital and creative industries and business and education, both of which could crossover into events. There are also several business courses that students in the region participate in, and these students are often interested in working on business and other events regionally to gain experience.
Things to consider
Consider the timing of terms and whether your event will fall within holiday periods as this may make sourcing students more complex. College terms are usually longer than university terms.
You should also be sure to consider the length of the shifts, the minimum age of the volunteer you can accept and make sure that your insurance policies will cover your volunteers whilst working with you.
Some colleges will cover the students’ expenses to travel to / from the events which removes the cost burden from the event organiser as travel and subsistence should always be offered to volunteers.
Finding volunteers
Complete our online form to tell us about your event and the kinds of volunteers you’re looking for.
NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau will then share the opportunity with our college and university contacts, and they will subsequently share it with their student cohorts and course leaders.