Olivia PowellElevate has announced the launch of its fourth season intake for new mentees and mentors, which is now live. Registrations will remain open until 17 February with all partnerships announced by the end of the month.
Elevate, a UK mentoring organisation for event professionals, was created four years ago when the founders noticed an industry skills gap. The free mentoring programme has been designed to bridge that gap helping to provide the skills needed to succeed in long-term events careers.
Co-founder of Elevate and commercial director at TEN6 Creative, Max Fellows, said: “There is a general expectation for events professionals to progress through their career on experience alone, meaning that larger roles and requirements are picked up by ‘faking it until you make it’. I wonder if mentoring is our industries secret weapon?”
Elevate has run for three seasons and created over 220 mentoring pairs with people from across the events industry.
Elevate co-founder and head of events and divisional sponsorship Santander UK, Mellisa Noakes, said: “We know this sort of mentoring scheme is something the industry is crying out for. We conduct a survey each year and over the three seasons 80% feel that they lack the confidence they need to excel in their current job roles. In addition, over 75% reported lacking all of the skills they needed to meet their current role requirements, let alone the skills that they would need to rise through the ranks of their companies.”
Elevate’s six-month programme is designed to connect mentees with more experienced mentors from the industry. Mentors include CEOs, entrepreneurs, creative directors, venue managers, freelancers, client managers, brand experience directors, suppliers and creative designers from the likes of Jack Morton, Sony, Amplify, Geometry, L’Oreal, Pretty Green, Sequoia Partnership, Seen and many more.
Francis Cremona, head of sales at Camm and Hooper, said: “I urge everyone to get involved with Elevate. Mentoring for the programme has been a huge honour and privilege. The value it’s provided has almost taken me by surprise having already taught me such useful lessons that I incorporate into my day to day role. It is without doubt the best thing I’ve done in my career to date.”
To join the Elevate program visit elevateme.co.