New Zealand offers new scholarships for ICCASkills programme

Pictured above: Waikin Wong, ICCA regional director Asia Pacific, and Tourism New Zealand Business Events bid manager Leonie Ashford celebrate the new scholarship partnership at the BEIA Conference in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. Tourism New Zealand is supporting the sustainable future of New Zealand’s business events industry by offering 10 new scholarships for the ICCASkills certification programme. Tourism New Zealand announced the 10 new scholarships at this week’s BEIA (Business Events Industry Aotearoa) Annual Conference in Hawke’s Bay. Established by ICCA (the International Congress & Convention Association), ICCASkills is a globally recognised professional accreditation for the business events industry. Its in-depth curriculum was developed by industry experts, including business leaders, academics, and ICCA members. The certification is delivered through on-site and online learning environments. Bjoern Spreitzer, Tourism New Zealand general manager NZ & Business Events, said: “New Zealand has invested in amazing new infrastructure and activities for the business events sector, and we need to recruit and retain the best talent to staff them. Business events are all about people – it makes sense to support the industry by investing in people.” “Encouraging professional development ensures the expertise of our people is recognised at a global level and helps to elevate New Zealand’s event standards.” Tourism New Zealand will share costs with the scholarship recipient’s employer. It offers five scholarships for the Certified International Convention Specialist (CICS) course for newcomers to the industry; and five scholarships for the Certified International Convention Executive (CICE) course. The latter are aimed at providing professional development to those with a minimum of three years in a management role. ICCA CEO Senthil Gopinath commented: “There is a genuine desire to do more in terms of the education and upskilling of our people, so learners across the world enjoy the best possible experiences when they attend an event. People absolutely expect the best and ‘the best’ is what ICCASkills is designed to do.” “By sharing learning, insight, and knowledge from many different areas, we have created something new, experiential, and worthwhile.”