What is Experience of Work?
Experience of Work is a programme founded by The Power of Events that enables any event organisation to host structured half-day or full-day experiences for a group of 5-50 young people from local schools – including mainstream and SEND.
Designed for organisations that want to inspire future talent but lack the time, templates or confidence to build a meaningful and Equalex-compliant experience from scratch. Equalex is a UK-wide framework that helps employers deliver safe, structured, inclusive and meaningful workplace experiences for young people, ensuring consistency, safeguarding, accessibility and high-quality outcomes for both learners and hosts.
The Power of Events Experience of Work Toolkit provides the framework and lays out the guidance and support needed to make participation simple.
Experience of Work is not a replacement for The Power of Events’ Schools Engagement Programme; it is Stage 2 of the journey. The Schools Engagement Programme (Stage 1) introduces young people to the breadth of careers and opportunities across the UK Events Industry through ambassador-led sessions in schools.
Experience of Work then brings those careers to life by enabling young people to step inside offices, warehouses, live sites and more from across the seven sectors, hosted by venues, agencies, suppliers and organisers. All schools and young people must first have taken part in a Schools Engagement Programme session before progressing to an Experience of Work visit. Creating a clear pathway from inspiration to real-world experience.
The Role of The Power of Events
Our role is to make employer-led Experiences of Work simple, safe, impactful and repeatable. The Power of Events Experience of Work Toolkits remove the barriers that often stop businesses from saying yes — whether these are time, uncertainty, internal resources, safeguarding concerns or not knowing where to start.
Experience of Work Toolkit will help you to:
- Define what you can realistically offer
- Shape the right format, size and timing for your business
- Access practical templates and delivery assets
- Coordinate school communication and logistics
- Support feedback and impact measurement
- Deliver a stronger experience with less internal friction
All available in The Power of Events Experience of Work Toolkit
“Our role is to make it as easy as possible for event businesses of all shapes and sizes to open their doors and inspire future talent.”
Sophie Beasor – Head of Operations and Engagement – The Power of Events
This is not a “bring your child to work” day, and it is not a marketing tour; this is a structured, meaningful learning experience.
Who is Experience of Work for?
All you need is a willingness to share what you do and a desire to help inspire. The Toolkit and The Power of Events will do the rest.
Experience of Work has been designed for everyone who has a role to play in inspiring the next generation of talent within the UK Events Industry.
For young people, it provides the opportunity to step beyond the classroom and experience the industry first-hand, helping them discover careers and pathways they may never have considered.
For schools and educators, it offers a structured, meaningful and compliant way to connect students with employers while supporting Gatsby Benchmarks, EqualEx and wider employability objectives.
For employers, Experience of Work provides a simple route to engage with future talent, showcase career opportunities, demonstrate social value and help strengthen the industry’s future workforce.
Open to organisations across all seven sectors of the UK Events Industry, Experience of Work is for anyone who believes that inspiring young people today is essential to securing the talent our industry needs tomorrow.
Why invest time and resources in Experience of Work?
The events industry faces a significant challenge: attracting, inspiring and developing future generations of talent.
Experience of Work gives organisations a practical way to invest in the future workforce of our industry while creating meaningful social impact in their internal team and local communities.
By opening your doors to young people, you can:
• Showcase the incredible variety of events industry careers.
• Build awareness of your organisation to future talent.
• Strengthen your CSR and social value commitments.
• Empower employees to share their knowledge and experience.
• Develop a more diverse, representative and inclusive workforce.
Whether you can host a small group as small as five for a few hours or deliver a full-day programme for a large group up to 50, every Experience of Work has the potential to change a young person’s belief of what is possible.
How does your organisation get started?
Many organisations tell us they would love to support young people but are not sure where to begin.
That’s exactly why Experience of Work has been created.
The Power of Events provides the framework, guidance and support to make participation simple, structured and compliant with EqualEx. We’ve worked with schools, employers, industry partners, health & safety and insurance consultants to develop a Toolkit that removes many of the common barriers that prevent businesses and schools alike from getting involved.
Organisations involved in The Power of Events Experience of Work will benefit from the Experience of Work Toolkit, meaning you do not need a dedicated early careers team, months of planning or to reinvent the wheel.
Develop the experience to improve the impact
The future of the events industry depends on collective action.
No single organisation can solve the industry’s talent challenges alone, but together we can create thousands of meaningful opportunities for young people across the UK.
Experience of Work has been developed with and for the industry, creating a consistent, scalable and accessible approach that works for businesses of all sizes. It enables organisations to contribute in a way that suits their capacity while ensuring young people receive high-quality, meaningful experiences.
By working together, The Power of Events and participating organisations will consistently review and evolve the Experience of Work Toolkit to help more young people discover careers in events, reach communities that are currently underrepresented within our workforce, and build a stronger talent pipeline for the future.
10
Organisations Involved
668
Pledged
Places
38
Young People
Engaged to date
How much does it cost?
Experience of Work is funded through a simple model of £35 per young person, per experience payed for by industry with a zero cost to schools.
For example, hosting 10 young people within your organisation would be a cost of £350. This funding enables The Power of Events to coordinate and maintain the programme nationally, ensuring opportunities remain high-quality, consistent and aligned across the UK. It covers the provision of safeguarding guidance, Equalex compliance frameworks, workshop comtent and operational support, making it straightforward for organisations of any size to participate with confidence.
The funding also supports the continued development of the Experience of Work portal, due to launch in Spring 2027, which will streamline administration and create a simple, accessible experience for both employers and educators.
Alongside this model, a number of leading associations and industry organisations have pledged places that their members can draw down against, helping to widen access and encourage participation across the UK Events Industry.
Pilot Reports
1st June 2026
3rd May 2026
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