Ask NCET: Trade shows and continuing education
NCET Biz Tips: Ask NCET
NCET helps you explore business and technology
Have a business or technology question? Send it to ask@NCET.org and if selected, NCET’s panel of business and technology experts will answer it in our monthly column.
Cinammon Davies
I have a strong marketing effort in place… Do I still need to sponsor and attend industry events?
There are many positive benefits to sponsoring and attending industry events. Let’s get the warm and fuzzy ones out of the way first. Having a presence at these events generates goodwill in your industry amongst your peers as well as in front of your customer base. Being involved in your community can be a differentiator between you and your competitors who are not attending, and it makes your company appear healthy in the eyes of the consumer that you can take the time and resources to show up and share the benefits of what you offer.
What’s in it for you? For starters – targeted marketing! Typically, attendees are attracted to the event because of their strong interest in the event premise. These are your people – talk to them and take strong note of the insights you can gain from networking with this highly qualified audience. Don’t forget to network with the other vendors around you to foster new business relationships. Perhaps you can put together a giveaway to spark new lead generation for your goods and services?
If you want to boost your brand visibility beyond the feet on the floor event traffic, consider making your booth interactive with Social Media! Inspiring attendees to take meaningful selfies they want to share while including a hashtag that ties into your business or even tagging your business can cause a larger ripple in the pond beyond just the event attendees. Last – but not least - #Swag matters. Consider the quality of your swag and tchotchkes. Are you giving guests something they want to keep close that continually brands you to them? Or are you giving them something that can easily be tossed aside and forgotten?
Cinammon Davies is an Account Executive for LOCALiQ, part of the USA Today Network (www.localiq.com/markets/nevada/) and NCET’s VP of Social Media and Newsletters.
Can continuing educations courses help me be more competitive in the post-COVID job market?
Jodi Herzik
As Peter Drucker once said, “The only skill that will be important in the 21st century is the skill of learning new skills. Everything else will become obsolete over time.” The number of people permanently laid off since February 2020 is over 2.2 million nationwide. (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Workers across the country who have been laid off during the pandemic will need to train for new jobs which require new skills.
Employers today need problem solvers and critical thinkers who embrace lifelong learning, foster a growth mindset and are able to adapt quickly and comfortably. To stay competitive and be successful in this environment, employees need to proactively engage in updating skills through continuing education. Employers must invest and champion the value of continuing education for their teams.
When we think about training, most discussions focus on the technical skills needed to stay relevant as technology advances. According to a new report by Gartner, 58% of the tech workforce will need to develop new skills to perform their jobs successfully.
At the same time, we need to think about honing the skills every business needs. These are the skills and competencies that can’t be replaced by AI; these are the skills that are uniquely human. Most often referred to as soft-skills. I prefer to think of these as essential-skills or people-skills. These essential-skills include workforce competencies such as collaboration and teamwork, critical thinking and decision making, communication and language skills, systems thinking, cultural awareness training, influencing skills, emotional empathy and leadership training. All of these things are core skills needed now and in the future.
Jodi Herzik is the interim vice provost for Extended Students at the University of Nevada, Reno (https://extendedstudies.unr.edu/) where it is their mission to make Continuing Education learner-centered, flexible and accessible to everyone in our community.
NCET is Northern Nevada’s largest member-supported non-profit that produces educational and networking events to help people explore businesses and technology. (www.NCET.org)