In its 28 years in the business, Gallowglass has recruited and trained more than 15,000 live events industry personnel in the UK and around the world, and with its latest venture in Saudi Arabia, that figure is set to rise exponentially. The company has partnered with Saudi Government organisation Sawaeed to develop a comprehensive training programme aimed at enabling young Saudi nationals to participate in the country’s growth in the events industry.
“The future of events in Saudi Arabia is poised for significant transformation, driven by the country’s ambitious Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy away from oil dependence by promoting sectors including tourism, entertainment, and manufacturing,” began Gallowglass Chairman, Paul Grecian, explaining the rationale behind the initiative. “This will create job opportunities across a wide range of industries, including those that require low to moderate education levels, which some sectors of the events industry fall under.”
Grecian anticipates that the revolutionary training programme will introduce thousands of young Saudis to the event market workforce in the next three years. “For these Saudi youngsters, the key to long-term job security in our industry will be the ability to learn skills, gain qualifications and have a future,” he commented. “Gallowglass is set to offer them just that.”
Like many initiatives that have been launched over the past few years, the idea for the programme evolved during lockdown, when Grecian and colleagues used the enforced downtime to develop a concept that he believes will not only dial into an untapped resource of young Saudi talent but also offer unique opportunities to many who wouldn’t otherwise receive them. “We are making a far-reaching commitment to offer young Saudis an exciting future in the events industry. To succeed, they will need to take advantage of the available upskilling programmes.”
Initially the project will call on the experience of UK crew chiefs. After a short transition period, the training will then be delivered by Saudis. “The Saudi workforce does not currently have the required experience to deliver training in-house,” he commented. “However, we anticipate that within a relatively short timeframe, there will be numerous Saudis in middle management positions, who will ultimately move into senior levels of management, thus creating room at the bottom of the pyramid for the process to continue.”
For Grecian and Gallowglass, after 28 years and thousands of trainees successfully introduced to the industry, the proof of concept is already there. “We’ve shown that the process works here in the UK; our challenge now is to repeat that in Saudi Arabia. The future employment prospects for young people in Saudi Arabia face several challenges but at the same time offer great potential due to the country’s ambitious Vision 2030 and continued economic diversification. Our offering is unique and perfectly complements the ambitions of the Saudi Arabian leadership.”
Photo: Gallowglass
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