The Talent and Knowledge Gap Threatening the Future of Events

A cooling labor market is compounding a long-simmering problem. Event professionals are being asked to do more with fewer resources, less institutional support, and, often, less pay.

At the same time, seasoned professionals are exiting the industry at an accelerating pace. In many cases, they are replaced by less experienced workers, or not replaced at all. 

The result is a widening talent and knowledge gap as decades of institutional experience walk out the door.

The talent and knowledge gap is one of the trends featured in the Skift Meetings Megatrends 2026 report. Get your free copy here.

An Industry Few Discover on Purpose

The industry has long suffered from a visibility problem. Many professionals fall into it by accident rather than deliberately choosing to work in events.

“Our research finds that many individuals did not know the industry existed before joining, which mirrors my own experience,” said Nancy Drapeau, vice president of research at the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR). “Yet once people enter, they often become passionate advocates. Despite its economic impact, academic research and exposure within collegiate marketing and sales programs remain limited.”

Gen Z Believes in Events — Just Not Event Careers

Ironically, younger generations strongly believe in the power of in-person connection. Freeman research shows that 91% of Gen Z professionals say face-to-face networking is critical for career growth.

Yet relatively few are choosing careers in event planning.

The issue is not a lack of interest in events themselves, but skepticism about the working conditions surrounding them. Long hours, high stress, limited visibility, and unclear career paths make the field less attractive than roles in marketing, communications, or corporate strategy.

“There are fewer people in the Gen Z cohort due to lower birth rates, and they are staying in school longer, delaying entry into the workforce,” Drapeau said. “That means fierce competition across industries to attract Gen Z talent. We must actively build awareness of what this industry offers.”

Some organizations are responding with more intentional workforce strategies. Emerald’s Associate Rotational Program offers competitive pay and exposure to multiple disciplines, including marketing, sales, content, and event operations, supported by senior mentors. Many participants transition into full-time roles, demonstrating that structured entry points can make the industry more competitive.

Elevating the Status of Event Work

Shifting the status of event jobs is essential, said Henry Coutinho-Mason, a futurist, keynote speaker, and author.

“If in-real-life becomes the number one driver of results, then events will shift from nice-to-have to must-to brilliantly, and the jobs will become more strategic, higher status, as well as better paid,” Coutinho-Mason said. “I think it’s very possible. We've always valued what is scarce and devalued what is abundant. Digital skills used to be scarce, so they were valuable. That might be about to flip. The ability to get sh*t done, in the real world, will be scarce, and therefore valuable.”

The industry’s cultural evolution has also contributed to talent erosion.

“We used to be in ‘show business,’ which was very much a lifestyle choice. Work hard, play hard as the generalized work-life balance,” said Marty Glynn, event producer and CEO of MAD Event Management. “We entered the formal business for profit a long time ago, where the funding of fun became extraneous and unrecognized as part of the reason folks made the lifestyle choice of the job. A job with rough hours and not great pay.”

That mindset no longer works, Glynn said, and he recommends making the industry fun again.

“Not debauchery, not company-funded outings, but leaving enough money on the P&L (profit and loss statement) for people to be people, have a drink, a dinner, see a show,” Glynn said. “The organizations I see now with the best staff, least turnover, and real culture have that particular DNA.”

Compensation Models Are Undermining the Talent Pipeline

While recruitment and visibility matter, compensation remains one of the most critical barriers to rebuilding the workforce.

Tracy Judge, founder and CEO of Soundings, believes the industry’s pay models are fundamentally broken. 

“We can’t find qualified people because the compensation structure itself hasn’t evolved,” she said.

Judge points to the widespread use of flat day rates for 1099 contractors, regardless of hours worked. These roles include travel directors, onsite meeting planners, logistics and operations staff, stage managers, show callers, and producer support.

“Not only is this model unattractive to today’s workforce, but it’s also questionably legal under federal and state labor laws,” Judge said. “The industry has normalized undervaluing onsite roles, which makes it harder to secure realistic budgets and harder to attract skilled professionals.”

Judge argues that event professionals should be compensated like other professional service providers, based on time, expertise, and the value they deliver.

“To close the talent gap, we need to modernize how we compensate industry talent so this work is sustainable and valued,” she said.

AI Is Reshaping Work — Not Replacing It

AI is beginning to reshape how work gets done across the events industry, but it is not a solution to the talent gap.

Soundings’ AI Workforce Study found that by the third quarter of this year, attitudes toward AI had shifted from fear to readiness. Only 2% of organizations reported reducing headcount due to AI, while 49% said upskilling and reskilling had become their top workforce priority.

“The conversation has moved from ‘Will AI replace me?’ to ‘How can AI help me do my best work?’” Judge said. “To build the workforce of the future, we must understand what work is being done today and how technology can support it — not eliminate it.”

Rebuilding the Industry’s Foundation

The events industry cannot simply wait for talent to reappear. It must actively rebuild the systems that attract, develop, and retain people. That means modernizing compensation, creating structured entry points, investing in mentorship, protecting institutional knowledge, and embracing policy and technology as workforce enablers.