Graduate Karina Hallberg has just started a six-month placement as Duty Manager at Claudelands Conference and Exhibition Centre
Industry First Programme Nurtures Graduate’s Passion for Events
Since opening just over three years ago, Claudelands Conference and Exhibition Centre has played host to a steady stream of conferences – attracting close to 40,000 delegates through its doors from a range of industries including finance, business, education, health and the environment.
For graduate Karina Hallberg, who has just started a six-month placement as a Duty Manager at Claudelands, the number and variety of events coming to the Hamilton venue is an exciting prospect.
Karina was one of two graduates, along with Edward Bryant, to join Claudelands and H3 in early-2014 as part of the group’s newly launched Graduate Development Programme. Understood to be a first for the New Zealand event industry, the programme has seen the pair gain on-the-job experience across all aspects of the group’s business during the past seven months – from customer service, business support and marketing, to venue management, turf management and technical services.
“Having spent time in all areas of the business I think I’ve now a good understanding of everything that goes into holding an event and how all the parts of our group fit together,” says Karina, who previously studied Marketing and PR at the University of Waikato.
“At the end of my rotations I wanted to do my six-month placement as Duty Manager at Claudelands because I really enjoy meeting and building relationships with clients, and helping them make sure their events are a success.
“It’s satisfying to look back on an event and know I helped it go off without a hitch. I also enjoy being right there on the ground and having to think on my feet – in a role like Duty Manager no two days are the same and there’s always something to keep you on your toes which I like.”
Karina says the beauty of the multi-purpose Claudelands venue is it allows her to be involved in a range of events, from meetings, conferences and exhibitions, through to dinners, awards ceremonies and large-scale impact events.
“Each event is different, yet the venue is able to flex to meet its exact needs – it‘s really interesting to see how the venue can transform for each event.”
H3 Business Development and Marketing Manager Murray Jeffrey says Claudelands has proven itself over the past few years and the Graduate Development Programme is one way it is working to further raise the bar.
“It’s great to see how far Claudelands has come in just three short years. We’ve established ourselves as an important venue for New Zealand and specifically the MICE sector, and we plan to continue to build on this strong reputation.
“The Graduate Development Programme is a key part of our wider talent management strategy and is one of a series of evolutionary initiatives designed to enhance our business,” he said.
“We’re really pleased with how Karina and Edward have embraced the opportunities they’ve had as part of Graduate Development Programme, have fitted in well with our team and have really added value to what we do. It’s not only good for us but this programme is beneficial for the event sector as we welcome the next wave of fresh talent to the industry,” added Jeffrey.
Progress is now underway for the second Graduate Development Programme intake – applications closed on 31 October and it is expected the next round of successful graduates will come on board in January.
Leave a Reply