Summer is the season for parties, which means it’s also the season for events jobs. From swanky wedding receptions on pristine lawns to festival raves, there’s a good time to be had here and the duties are varied. The even better news is that Antipodeans are highly sought after.
As Jarrod Bischoff of events recruiting company Crewsaders explains: “We target mostly Antipodeans, primarily for their work ethic and good nature. We have found that, due to the strong sports culture and education within Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the people coming over are fit, keen and have the perfect attitude.”
Crewsaders.com offers jobs in events all through the year, and the team’s expert knowledge and Kiwi boss (who, incidentally, named the company after his favourite rugby side – The Crusaders) make it easy to get involved.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the roles you can get involved with:
Event staff:
Working events is the most varied of the jobs available, ranging from being a host to catering to working in cloakrooms. If you’re into food, catering may be your best bet as you’ll likely come away with a tray of sausage rolls. If music is more your bag, consider a role picking up rubbish at a festival as a trade off for bagging a free ticket.
Admiralgroup.com caters for some swanky events so if you’re into the VIP lifestyle, give this try. Crewsaders.com recruits for all events jobs so if you’re not sure, get in touch with the friendly team and they’ll find you a match.
QUALIFICATIONS: Catering companies will give you a day or two of training in silver service before you start work. More general roles don’t require qualifications but experience can help get you a place.
PAY AND HOURS: Jobs in events usually means unsociable hours on evenings and weekends, but you can work as little or as often as you like so it’s perfect for fitting around travelling. Pay ranges from £8-12 per hour depending on your role, but if you’re working at a festival your compensation will likely be in the form of a free ticket.
Crew:
In this role you will be building the physical structures of an event, which requires some brawn but is great if you like to be active. As Nick Grecian, managing director of Gallowglass, one of the biggest crewing recruiters in the country explains: “In the crewing world, no two days are ever the same – one week we could be building the fortress fence around the Glastonbury Festival site, the next we could be helping to transform Trafalgar Square or working in the studios at Media City UK -the new Manchester home of the BBC and ITV. The hours can be anti-social, but the team spirit is fantastic.”
QUALIFICATIONS: You don’t need any official qualifications for this role but pay does go up depending on experience. Most companies give you some initial training but, as they all say, it’s attitude that counts.
PAY AND HOURS: The hours can be long but you’ll work in blocks with as much or as little time in between jobs as you wish. Pay ranges from £8-12 per hour.
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Drivers:
If you love playing with cars then spending your days being paid to drive one doesn’t sound like a bad deal. Events require drivers for general set-up as well as more specialised cherry-picker or forklift operating. If you’re really lucky, you may even be assigned the job of driving musicians at festivals around, which means rubbing shoulders with your idols and VIP treatment for all. Get in.
QUALIFICATIONS: A clean drivers license is of course a must here. If you have a foreign license you can use it on a small car only, and you have to have held it for at least a year. You also can only drive on that license for up to 12 months after you first entered the UK. To operate cherry pickers or forklifts you will need a special license. Each machine has its own regulatory body through which you can get training.
PAY AND HOURS: You will generally work shifts with these types of jobs, which will be long but can be spread out. Drivers make about £10 per hour. If you’re operating machinery you will make more.
Security:
Being on the burlier side is a plus for this job, but it’s not necessarily a rule. To man the door at big events or work security at festivals, you’ll need some specialist experience. Stewarding, which involves directing queues, is usually more low-key and doesn’t require special training. Festaff.co.uk recruits specifically for festivals. Crewsaders.com is a good place to look for security jobs.
QUALIFICATIONS: Each security company has different requirements for their recruits, but to work bigger events you will likely need an NVQ Level 2 in spectator safety. Pttc.co.uk runs courses every month in London. Most recruitment companies also run training courses. Qualifications for stewarding will depend on how big the event is.
PAY AND HOURS: Work can go on long into the night, but if you’re working big events you most likely won’t have to wake up early in the morning. Security employees make £8-12 an hour.
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