The events industry, along with many others, experienced the unprecedented upheaval when the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020. As live events came to a halt, many Audio-Visual (AV) and Event Technicians found themselves out of work, leading to significant shifts in the job market. Sabrina Pattison from Live Recruitment provides insight into how these changes have led to a shortage of AV candidates and how the industry is now recovering with much more confidence from AV candidates.
The AV Exit
From the offset of the pandemic, the absence of live events forced AV technicians to seek employment in other industries. AV candidate skill sets, which include technical proficiency and problem-solving abilities, were highly transferable, allowing many to find new roles outside the events sector as well. These alternative industries often offered more stable working conditions, especially during the uncertainty of the pandemic and the unknown return to normality. In addition, they offered regular hours and competitive pay, which were appealing compared to the traditionally demanding schedules in the events industry.
Return Reluctance
Over the last few years, as events resumed and the industry seeming mostly back to normality, there had been a noticeable reluctance among these professionals to return to their previous roles. With the initial return of live events in some format taking a whole year after lockdown began, the confidence in returning to the events industry as an AV technician is slowly resuming some 4 years on.
The primary reasons for this include:
Unsociable Hours & Long Shifts: Many technicians found that their new jobs provided a better work-life balance, something that the events industry has historically struggled to offer.
Competitive Salaries Elsewhere: The compensation in alternative industries often matched or exceeded what was previously earned in event roles, reducing the financial incentive to return.
Stability & Predictability: Jobs outside the events sector have historically offered more job security and predictability, which became highly valued during the uncertain times of the pandemic.
The Shift to Freelancing
Sabrina Pattison, Account Director at Live Recruitment highlighted that “among those AV technicians who have returned to the events industry, we’ve seen a significant number have chosen to work on a freelance basis”.
This trend reflects a desire for greater control over their schedules and the ability to command higher rates for their specialised skills. However, this shift has not entirely alleviated the shortage. The pool of available, experienced AV technicians remains limited, making the market for these professionals tighter than ever.
Signs of Improvement
Despite these challenges, there are positive signs that the market is improving. Sabrina Pattison of Live Recruitment commented; “confidence within the events sector is growing as the world adapts to life since Covid. Event organisers are increasingly investing in high-quality AV solutions to enhance both live and hybrid events, which is gradually attracting talent back to the industry”.
Moreover, companies are beginning to recognise the need to offer better working conditions and competitive pay to lure technicians back.
Moving Forward
The Covid-19 pandemic drastically affected the availability of AV candidates in the events industry, with many AV professionals seeking stability and better conditions elsewhere. While the market remains tight, now 4 years on, there is a very encouraging shift towards a normality with signs of great quality candidates returning to the market.
With an increased investment in AV technology and improved job conditions, the industry has rebuilt confidence to candidates in the events sector which has drawn technicians back to the dynamic world of events.
The future looks promising as the events industry continues to adapt and evolves to attract and retain top AV talent in a post-pandemic world.