Tourism New Zealand offers 10 new ICCA scholarships

Tourism New Zealand has partnered with ICCA (International Congress & Convention Association) to offer 10 new scholarships for the ICCASkills certification programme, to support the future of the country’s business events industry.

Tourism New Zealand will share costs with the scholarship recipient’s employer, offering 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, aimed at providing professional development to those with a minimum of three years in a management role.

ICCA’s Waikin Wong. and Tourism New Zealand’s Leonie Ashford celebrate the scholarship partnership at the Business Events Industry Aotearoa Conference in sunny Hawke’s Bay

The in-depth curriculum has been developed by industry experts, including business leaders, academics and ICCA members, and is delivered through on-site and online learning environments.

Tourism New Zealand general manager NZ & business events, Bjoern Spreitzer, commented: “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.”