THE NEXT GENERATION PROGRAM
CEF’s Next Generation programme aims to inspire, excite, and develop new and emerging talent to pursue a career in the events industry by offering engaging, robust training courses alongside professional development and recognition opportunities, developed by leading industry experts and university professors.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR LEARNERS IN PARTICIPATING REGIONS?
Learners from participating regions receive free, full access to CEF’s EventsPRO™ Foundational courses.
Upon completion of all six Core Foundation courses, learners are awarded Associate Fellow (CEF-AF) status, enabling the formal use of the CEF-AF post-nominal letters for professional recognition.
Learners receive open access to all CEF research and articles to supplement learning and professional development.
Exclusive, complimentary invitations to CEF debates, events, and networking opportunities featuring leading industry and academic subject matter experts.
Each region may nominate one Next Generation student for the ‘Rising Star’ Award at the 2026 Golden Ticket Awards.
HOW CAN REGIONS
SIGN UP?
A skills funding contribution from your region - agreed on a region-by-region basis - is required to access The Next Generation program for learners who live in your region.
The level of skills funding contributed will determine whether regions get access to unlimited or limited numbers of learners in your region.
If your region is interested in the program and/or finding out more information…
HOW DOES ACCESS TO EventsPRO™ FOUNDATIONAL COURSES WORK?
Registered learners from participating regions receive a dedicated log-in and learner profile, providing access to all EventsPRO™ courses to be completed within a 12-month period.
The programme comprises 14 foundational online courses, each 20 hours in duration, totalling 280 hours of learning. Six of these foundational courses are designated as Core, covering the key areas of Introduction to Events, Event Strategy, Event Planning, Event Delivery, Event Evaluation, and Event Sustainability.
Each course is valued at £249 (£3,486 for all 14 courses). In partnership with participating regions, CEF will offer either limited or unlimited £3,486 scholarships providing full access to all courses at no cost, in return for a skills funding contribution - determined region-by-region.
For a list of all EventsPRO™ Foundational Courses: https://www.eventsandfestivals.org/eventspro-foundational-courses
HOW DOES ACCESS TO ‘ASSOCIATE FELLOW’
STATUS WORK?
After learners have completed all x6 ‘Core’ Foundational courses noted above, they receive automatic Associate Fellow (CEF-AF) status, permitting the formal use of post-nominal letters CEF-AF for professional recognition.
More info on how CEF’s Fellowships work:www.eventsandfestivals.org/fellowships
HOW DOES ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE, COMPLIMENTARY INVITATIONS TO CEF DEBATES, EVENTS, AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES WORK?
CEF will host debates and events throughout the year featuring leading industry and academic experts. Learners from participating regions will receive first refusal and complimentary tickets to each event (valued at £10 per learner per event).
More info on CEF Debates, events and networking opportunities: https://www.eventsandfestivals.org/debates
HOW DOES THE ‘RISING STAR’ GOLDEN TICKET AWARD WORK?
Positioned as the Oscars of the events industry, each participating region may nominate one Next Generation student for the Rising Star award.
More info on CEF’s ‘Golden Ticket’ awards: https://www.eventsandfestivals.org/golden-ticket-awards