Meet Emma and learn more about her job as an events assistant for events including Manchester Pride. Part of our Bitesize world of work series.
My name is Emma Dixon-Phillip and I'm the events assistant at Manchester Pride.
Day to day, I'm sort of mainly based on emails, so lots of getting back to people, sending out health and safety forms and making sure everyone has documents that they need before the festival.
And also I attend a lot of meetings - so it could be one day with a charity that we work with about how they can be more engaged in the festival, and then another day it could be with the police and the ambulance service. Each day is completely different.
During the festival I'll have lots of different roles. We're sort of still planning out what that will be, but I, I can imagine I'll be with a headset and a golf buggy and ready to go with whatever there needs sorting out. I know that I'm going to be mainly in the family zone, just because I've kind of put that together and running a group of volunteers, making sure that every area is sort of stewarded well, and also linking in with our charity partners that are helping put together the area.
When I was a teenager, I was really interested in music and events and when it got to picking my A-levels, I wasn't certain I wanted to do it as a career, so, I followed what strengths I had in subjects and ended up going to do a finance degree. And then I realised, no, music and events is what I want to do. I worked for an agent and was sort of the administrator, gained some more experience and then the job at Manchester Pride came up and I just decided to go for it.
So if I was talking to myself when I was 14-15 I'd definitely say to just do as much as you can, especially in terms of volunteering.
Volunteering is such a great way to learn different skills. Not only do you meet people but you might pick up a job that you've never thought of doing, and it might lead you to something that you then think you might want to do as a career. And the best part of volunteering is it doesn't affect your CV. You know, it's a learning experience and it isn't going to mean you're going to get fired from anything or lose any money. You know, you can just practise and have a go at something.
Communication is one of the key skills to work in events I'd say, being confident talking to people and speaking in front of different groups of people. I think my biggest reason for feeling confident now was because of how much volunteering I did. So like I said, meeting lots of different groups of people, which then puts you at ease cos you, you know, you can deal with anybody then.
Another skill that's really important is the ability to network, because a lot of what we do is through recommendations or, you know, you might suddenly have work emergency where, a tent hire company might suddenly not be available, and through meeting new people, you might suddenly remember that you've met somebody that can help you in that situation.
So what to me is most special is that I spend, you know, my day doing lots of different things, running around, sometimes I feel like I've been a million places in a day. But coming home thinking about people that are going to be really impacted by the one big event of the year that makes them feel comfortable with who they are, and I just, am so excited to in the midst of all the craziness of the festival, just take a second and look around and see how many people have been impacted by the work that we've done.
And that really motivates me to come to work every day and really, like, that's why I love my job.
Volunteering is such a good way to pick up new skills.
Emma works as an events assistant manager helping her team to put on events throughout the year, the biggest of which is Manchester Pride
A key element of her job is to provide administrative support to the Events Team. This includes answering customer queries, liaising with the emergency services to work out logistical issues on festival days and working with charities attending the event
This year Emma has been in charge of the Family Zone which has been newly introduced to Manchester Pride. This included sourcing artists and getting relevant charities on board
According to Emma, the key skills you need for this role are time management, organisation and great communication skills
Emma's advice for getting into this industry is to do as much volunteering as you can and use it as an opportunity to find out what area you would most like to work in. She also recommends networking to both build up a network of relevant industry contacts and to gain communication skills.
Emma is an events assistant. A similar role to this, that might be the next step up on the careers' ladder, is an events manager. Event managers organise and run conferences, exhibitions, promotions and business and social events.
What to expect if you want to be an events manager
- Events manager average salary: £21,000 - £40,000 per year
- Events manager typical working hours: 37 to 39 hours per week including evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
What qualifications do you need to be an events manager?
You could get into this role via a university course, a college course (such as a Level 2 or Level 3 Diploma, or a T-level – England-only), an apprenticeship, working towards the role, volunteering or applying directly if you have relevant experience. Check with your course provider which alternative qualifications they accept.
Sources: LMI for All, National Careers Service,
This information is a guide and is constantly changing. Please check the website for the latest information and all the qualifications needed and the for more on T-levels.
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