Editor’s Note: This month we begin an ongoing content series highlighting the factors shaping the global business events industry, as identified by EIC’s 2025 Futures Landscape Study. Each month we will focus on a single topic, sharing news and insights from EIC Members, Strategic Partners, Volunteer Leaders, CMP Fellows and other stakeholders. This month, we focus on Talent and Workforce Development.
As the business events industry races toward a future shaped by technology, shifting demographics, and global disruption, one factor continues to define its long-term success: people. The Events Industry Council’s Futures Landscape Study 2025 identified “Talent and Workforce Development” as one of the 12 key forces shaping the industry’s trajectory—and one of its most urgent challenges.
Developed through collaboration across EIC’s 60+ Members and Strategic Partners representing diverse sectors of the industry, the Futures Landscape Study draws on global research and industry expertise to anticipate the issues most likely to shape the future of business events. In partnership with Ipsos, a globally recognised research leader, and supported by the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE), EIC used strategic foresight methodologies to identify the macro forces and emerging dynamics that will define the sector over the next decade.
According to the study, 75% of respondents said talent is either very or extremely important to the industry’s future, underscoring the pivotal role human capital plays in sustaining creativity, service excellence, and innovation in an increasingly complex world.
A Shifting Workforce Landscape
The business events industry, long dependent on collaboration, hospitality, and creativity, is undergoing a generational transformation. With four generations now in the global workforce—each bringing different expectations, values, and technological fluency—organisations face widening gaps in leadership, skills, and workstyle preferences.
“The retirement of experienced professionals is creating a vacuum in leadership and specialised knowledge,” one CEO in Latin America told EIC researchers. “Some organisations deprioritise talent development in favour of short-term gains, exacerbating leadership and skill shortages”.
At the same time, younger generations entering the workforce are demanding new norms around purpose, inclusion, and balance. Gen Z, in particular, is driving a cultural shift away from the “always-on” mentality toward a workplace that values mental health, flexibility, and meaningful engagement. These expectations are forcing event organisations—many of which operate in high-pressure, high-touch environments—to rethink what sustainable careers look like.
Technology’s Double-Edged Sword
The study identifies Tech-tonic Shifts as a major macro force influencing talent development. Artificial intelligence, automation, and hybrid work models are reshaping roles faster than organisations can adapt. While these technologies bring significant productivity gains, they are also contributing to new forms of professional burnout and anxiety.
“Phygital management”—the integration of physical and digital event management—has created demand for employees who can navigate both worlds. As one Latin American executive noted, “The rapid technological advancements in the events industry create a demand for new skills that traditional training programs may not address. There is a growing need for employees who can adapt to diverse roles, managing both physical and digital elements of events”.
Nearly half of global workers predict their current skills will become obsolete within a few years. Another 46% say they will leave their job if employers don’t provide opportunities to upskill. These data points underline a clear mandate for the events sector: invest in people’s future capabilities or risk losing them altogether.
Generational Tensions and New Leadership Models
Differences in workstyle, communication, and motivation are nothing new—but the stakes are higher now. “Every generation has struggled to understand and involve the next one,” a European healthcare executive remarked. “We forget how much our bosses complained when we started the job”.
Today, those tensions are amplified by technology’s pace and shifting definitions of success. For younger professionals, career growth is no longer measured by tenure alone but by purpose, flexibility, and personal development. For older generations, experience and mentorship remain cornerstones of quality and service. Bridging this divide will require organisations to develop what EIC calls a “reverse mentoring” mindset—pairing institutional wisdom with digital fluency and fresh thinking.
A Looming Shortage—and an Opportunity
The report warns that as populations age and birth rates decline in developed markets, staffing shortages will intensify. Agism remains a barrier to retaining experienced workers, while lower salaries and high burnout rates risk driving younger talent away. Yet this same shift presents an opportunity for the industry to redefine what talent looks like—moving from degree-based hiring toward experience-based and cross-disciplinary criteria.
Event professionals, by nature, are problem-solvers and connectors. These traits position the sector to lead by example in reimagining workforce models that blend flexibility, inclusivity, and lifelong learning. As one European managing director put it, “Being in the service business, our services are as good as our people”.
The Next Five Years: Building a Future-Ready Workforce
Looking ahead, the Futures Landscape Study points to a talent environment defined by adaptability and empathy. Organisations will need to foster inclusive cultures that recognise diverse lived experiences and provide career pathways that evolve with technology. Upskilling, mentorship, and well-being will become strategic imperatives rather than optional perks.
In practical terms, this means creating training ecosystems that teach both hard and soft skills—from data literacy and AI competency to emotional intelligence and cross-cultural communication. It also means addressing the “VUCA” (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environment that professionals now inhabit, balancing innovation with the human need for stability.
The report suggests that event organisers and associations should champion collaboration across sectors, sharing resources to tackle talent shortages collectively. This could include international credentialing programs, global mobility initiatives, and stronger advocacy for the value of event professions in economic and cultural recovery efforts.
Human Capital as Competitive Advantage
Ultimately, the study’s message is clear: the longevity of the events industry depends on the longevity of its people. Talent is not just a workforce issue—it is a strategic asset. In an era when technology can simulate connection but not replicate it, the industry’s competitive edge remains deeply human.
As automation advances and markets evolve, the organisations that thrive will be those that treat professional development not as an expense but as an investment in resilience, innovation, and relevance.
Because, as the Futures Landscape Study 2025 reminds us, “The most valuable factor in the business events industry isn’t technology—it’s human capital.”
