Annual Salary
£17,000 to £60,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
Swap to Food & drink or Hotels or go back to all job sectors
Swap to Food & drink or Hotels or go back to all job sectors
Conference and exhibition managers plan and run events like trade shows, conferences and exhibitions.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends; attending events or appointments
There will be
2.9% more Conference and exhibition manager jobs in 2027.
You may:
You could work in an office, at a client's business or at a venue.
Your working environment may be physically active and you may spend nights away from home.
You can get into this job through:
You could do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree in events management or hospitality management, although it's not essential.
These university courses often include work placements, which will help you get practical experience and develop contacts in the industry.
You'll usually need:
You could do a college course, for example:
You'll usually need:
You could get started in the conference and events industry through an events assistant advanced apprenticeship or a hospitality management higher apprenticeship.
You'll usually need:
You could begin as an administrator or marketing assistant with a conference management company, possibly through temporary work. As your experience grows, you may be able to take on more responsibility for organising events.
Doing paid or unpaid work as a steward at large events or exhibitions can be useful for building up contacts in the industry. This is a good way to hear about jobs, as many are not advertised.
Employers will usually look for relevant experience and strong transferable skills like organising, budget management and marketing. Any experience you have in hotel conference and banqueting, travel, sales, PR or fundraising can be especially useful.
You can find out more about careers in conferences, exhibitions and events from the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers.
You could work for an events management company, exhibition venue or marketing department of a large organisation. With experience, you could take on bigger events and move into management.
You could also set up your own consultancy.
You'll need: