Sourcing The Perfect Exhibition Stands

If you tell someone not to judge a book by its cover, would you believe that they wouldn't?First impressions count for everything and often it takes just a couple of seconds to determine if you like what you see.Exhibition stands have the power to either invite or reject a customer's business within those few seconds.Finding the right balance between practicality and visual appeal is the key to your success.

Exhibition stands are a highly effective method of communicating your corporate messages to your target audience.The challenge is to win the audience's interest in the first place.Quite often, you will be surrounded by your competitors therefore having the edge is vital for winning the business.

With the latest software technologies now available, stand designers are able to create detailed floor plans and 3D design visuals, allowing you to see the stand before it's even constructed, thus saving you a great deal of time and anxiety.

However before you get to the stage of contracting stand designers, you must consider your budget, so you can determine what you can buy for your buck.Upon application to exhibit at a fair, you will be offered the chance to hire a shell scheme or bring your own stand.A shell scheme is a cheap and cheerful option, ideal for those with low levels of stock to exhibit or small budgets.They include compact rented floor space complete with carpet, walling, facia and normally a basic lighting track and electrical socket.If however, you are bringing your own exhibition stand, you will need to determine how much floor space you can afford when applying to exhibit.

Once you have your space allocated, you will need to supply the overall stand dimensions to your exhibition stand designer.Be sure to pitch your requests to a number of exhibition stand designers to see who can make you the best offer for your requirements.It's important when you are pitching your ideas, to be clear about the purpose of your stand.Are you purely planning on driving traffic to the stand or are you looking for a unit where you can hold business meetings?Will you require seating and privacy or do you want open plan?These decisions will affect the entire layout of the stand so it's important to be clear what you want from the start.

Exhibition show organisers impose strict guidelines regarding build heights to ensure all exhibitors are playing to the same restrictions.The job of the exhibition stand designer is to produce a quality, creative, and cutting edge exhibition stand while adhering to the restrictions imposed by the exhibition show organisers.

By supplying the designer will the appropriate graphics and logos, they will ensure the right corporate identity is projected.The stand designer will also be in charge of managing the specialist electricians, steelworkers, A/V crews and other required specialist trades.

The key to achieving the right stand for your business is careful planning and being open and honest with your stand designer from the start.If they produce a design in the initial stages that you don't like, tell them.At the end of the day, it's not just your money but your corporate identity on the line so you need to make sure you get the result you have requested.

About the Author

Dominic Donaldson is an expert in Event Organising

Find out more about Exhibition Stands and a look at how they help to promote your business.

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What is the Scope of the it Skills Crisis and Are we Tackling it in the Right Way?

Recent research suggests that British Business requires 150,000 new entrants into IT each year. Over the past few years the number of graduates in IT has halved to 20,000.

The figures speak for themselves. Even the most ardent sceptic cannot deny the skills deficit that we currently face. But why does this gap exist and are industry and Government adopting the right strategies to tackle it?

In my view; its all about career change - supporting individuals working in the UKs declining industries to retrain for a role in IT. But while this sounds like a practical common-sense solution to a growing problem, it is receiving little support.

Efforts are being made to promote IT to under-represented groups, such as women, but it seems that little is being achieved in terms of promoting uptake of the subject in secondary and higher education. From a relatively early age it appears that able students are led towards the sciences and IT skills are not given the same kudos.

The generation currently in secondary education has grown up with technology so their lives are dramatically different from their predecessors; access to the internet, mobile phones, sophisticated gaming consoles have all impacted their aptitude to and perception of technology. So it seems strange to me that more students arent inspired to study for the jobs which shape and mould these inventions. It could be that they take the technology for granted, or it could be the age old image problem.

The other issue influencing the perception of the IT industry, and one which I believe is having an impact on the number of students opting for IT courses, is outsourcing.

At the present rate it is estimated that over 100,000 IT jobs will have been transferred overseas by 2010. Skills shortages in the UK are creating the economic imperative for companies to outsource to or recruit from overseas.

But while low-level helpdesk skills can be outsourced effectively and in volume, the challenge comes when trying to recruit for development and programming skills required by IT departments and service providers. India, for example, is able to fill the gap because it is investing in training its population, although whether this provides an immediate answer to the problem is questionable. And other countries such as China have some way to go before they can offer a solution for British industry. So why is the Government standing by and watching when we have large numbers of poorly skilled people keen to train but simply unable to afford to do so?

If the required number of people with the right IT skills arent materialising through the British education system, or being sourced abroad, then the missing link needed to stimulate career transition into IT must be training.

In my view, this is the most practical solution which matches workforce supply and demand, giving individuals new opportunities while solving an industry skills deficit. But a lack of appropriate funding is holding up the process. The people most in need of the training, most likely to complete it and most likely to give the greatest contribution to the workplace after completion, are excluded from most funding initiatives. The current system falls short as funding for Government training schemes is channelled through employers; so training for a new career whilst working is inaccessible for the thousands of people unable to fund themselves.

The Governments development of Skills Accounts that would release funds directly to individuals provides a glimmer of hope. But there is no guarantee that the scheme will be adopted and it isn't planned to be rolled out for over two years. A more practical option would be to zero rate VAT for individuals funding their own training for a career change, but this has received little support.

To offer reassurance to industry, and a positive outlook to individuals, we must strive to provide choice and financial incentive to stimulate career change; this is the how we should tackle the skills crisis.


About the Author

Karl Parkinson, Chairman, Computeach - With over 40 years of experience in the IT Training Industry, Computeach provides innovative and truly blended learning solutions to a wide range of customers. For interviews, images or comments contact: Rosie Gallagher Marketing Communications Executive Computeach International Ltd Phone: 01384 245 308 Email: rosie.gallagher@computeach.co.uk

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