International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney), managed by ASM Global, has produced the first graduates of its inaugural High Performance Program.
The 12-month programme featured an intensive series of leadership workshops covering convention centre business management, self-discovery, and completion of the Australian Institute of Management’s Mini Master of Business Administration. In the final months of the programme, the cohort was split into two teams, where each collaborated to solve a business-specific challenge.
The six-member cohort included ICC Sydney’s senior team members, Adrian Slingsby, risk operations manager; Andrew Durbridge, senior manager, ICT Service Delivery; Dana Fish, senior manager, business development – national associations; Erin Rugg, senior manager, human resources business partnering; Jack Crozier, senior audio visual technical Manager; and Sandra Rae, senior manager, public relations.
ICC Sydney’s CEO Geoff Donaghy said: “Our investment in upskilling and professional development coupled with our people’s ingenuity ensures that ICC Sydney remains at the fore of event management and technical delivery.
“We are incredibly proud to have established a culture that encourages our team of professionals to participate in developing impactful innovations, such as the event planning tool and the leadership pathway strategy, that will help underpin the success we deliver for our clients today and into the future.
“ICC Sydney’s High Performance Program participants have certainly exemplified the venue’s values and standards and this outstanding achievement is a testament to their creativity, collaboration and world-class venue management practices,” Donaghy said.
The High Performance Program is one of many professional development opportunities offered by ICC Sydney to enhance the experience needed to develop a successful career in the events industry. Starting from entry level programmes such as the AV Graduate Program, as well as the paid and certified Professional Growth Traineeship Program, which have both been effective in recruiting emerging talent and providing opportunities to thrive and grow in the industry with many graduates being retained for casual and permanent roles at the venue.
In FY2023 alone, ICC Sydney employed 14 new trainees, engaged in over 260 training courses and invested in over 7,000 training hours for its diverse in-house team of events professionals.
