What Can You Do After School? Why Event Management Could Be a Smart Career Choice.
- The Event School London
- 6 hours ago
- 6 min read
Finishing school or sixth form can bring one very big question: what comes next?
University is one route, but it is no longer the automatic next step for everyone.
If you already know that you want a career that is creative, commercial, people focused and connected to the real world of work, it can make sense to choose an education route that prepares you directly for that industry.
For school leavers interested in events, experiences, entertainment, venues, brands, weddings, sport, festivals or hospitality, event management offers considerably more career possibilities than the job title “event planner” might suggest.
And it is a substantial UK industry.
According to the Events Industry Alliance, the UK events sector was worth an estimated £68.7 billion to the national economy in 2025.
The exhibitions and business events sector alone generates £11.5 billion in economic output and supports around 126,000 jobs.
In 2025, the number of exhibitions and conferences with an exhibition element held at major UK venues reached its highest level in a decade.
For someone deciding what to study after school, that matters. You are not preparing for one narrowly defined job. You are entering a large, diverse industry with opportunities across the UK and internationally.
Is Event Management a Good Career?
For the right person, event management can offer an unusually varied career.
Events exist across almost every sector. Global businesses hold conferences and product launches. Brands create live experiences. Venues host exhibitions and corporate events. Sporting organisations deliver competitions and hospitality programmes. Charities run fundraising events. Couples employ professional wedding planners. Festivals, concerts, cultural organisations and entertainment companies all require people who understand how to make events happen.
That creates career opportunities with:
event agencies
conference and exhibition organisers
hotels and event venues
luxury brands
wedding planning companies, vendors and venues
sporting organisations and associations
festivals and entertainment companies
corporate event departments
charities and not-for-profit organisations
experiential and brand activation agencies
production companies
destination and tourism organisations
The UK events industry has demonstrated considerable resilience and growth.
London, in particular, continues to strengthen its position as a global events destination.
In 2025, London & Partners described the capital’s business events sector as being “poised for a new phase of growth”, as London was named Europe’s leading destination for meetings and events for the third consecutive year.
For students considering a career in events, that means studying in a city where major international conferences, exhibitions, brand experiences and corporate events form part of a thriving professional landscape.
What Skills Do You Gain From Studying Event Management?
One of the advantages of studying event management at the beginning of your career is that you develop skills that are valuable both within events and across the wider workplace.
Professional events require far more than creativity.
You need to manage timelines, budgets, suppliers and stakeholders. You need to communicate professionally, solve problems, work with different people and remain organised when several things are happening at once.
Through event management study and experience, you can develop capabilities in areas including:
project management
communication and presentation
budgeting and commercial awareness
teamwork and leadership
negotiation
marketing and promotion
supplier and stakeholder management
problem solving
organisation and time management
customer and client experience
These are highly transferable skills.
So even as you prepare specifically for a career in events, you are also developing a professional skill set that can remain useful if your career takes you into marketing, hospitality, tourism, communications, venue management, business development or another related field.
Do You Need a University Degree to Work in Events?
Not necessarily.
The events industry includes people who have entered through many different routes. What employers ultimately need is evidence that you understand events, can operate professionally and have the skills and experience required to contribute to their organisation.
For some students, a traditional university degree will be the right choice.
Others may prefer a more concentrated route that combines higher-level qualifications with practical event education and direct exposure to the industry.
The important question is therefore not simply:
“Should I go to university?”
A better question may be:
“What type of education will best prepare me for the career I want?”
What Is an Event Management Degree Alternative?
A degree alternative provides another route for students who want to continue their education after school without following a conventional three-year university programme.
At The Event School London, our Degree Alternative in Event Management is a one-academic-year, full-time programme created specifically for school leavers and career-starters who want a structured route into the professional events industry.
Students progress through Level 4, Level 5 and Level 6 Diplomas in Events Management, with the final qualification at Level 6, the same academic level as the final year of a UK undergraduate degree.
The qualifications are Ofqual regulated and awarded by ATHE.
But qualifications form one part of the programme.
The aim is to combine academic progression with the experiences, professional skills and industry understanding that help students prepare for their first career opportunities.
Why Choose a Career-Focused Event Management Programme?
If you already have an interest in events, there is an advantage to spending your education immersed in that industry from the beginning.
Students on The Event School London's Degree Alternative study face-to-face in London, typically three days each week across three terms.
They learn from event professionals and study alongside a small cohort of students with similar career ambitions.
Alongside their core event management qualifications, students:
plan a live event
complete a one-month internship
attend venue tours, events, showcases and industry activities
build professional networks
choose three specialist Event School electives
receive personalised academic support and career mentoring
This creates a very different experience from simply studying events in a classroom.
Explore Different Areas of the Events Industry
You may know you want to work in events without knowing exactly which part of the industry will suit you.
That is completely normal at the start of a career.
One of the purposes of your education should be to help you discover that.
Degree Alternative students choose three specialist electives during their programme, providing opportunities to explore areas such as luxury events, weddings and social events, event design, venues, festivals and live entertainment, sports events, corporate events, exhibitions, brand experiences, event marketing and entrepreneurship.
You might arrive convinced that you want to plan weddings and discover an interest in luxury brand events.
You might love sport but find that venue coordination is where your strengths lie.
Or you may already have a particular ambition and use your electives to start developing specialist knowledge in that area.
Why Study Event Management in London?
Location matters when you are learning about an industry.
London is home to major event venues, agencies, international brands, hotels, sporting events, exhibitions, cultural institutions and entertainment organisations.
Studying event management in London means the industry is not something you experience solely through examples on a presentation slide.
It is around you.
The Event School London is based in London's Royal Docks at Novotel London Excel.
It's at the centre of one of the capital's major event districts and home to ExCeL London , Immerse LDN and a growing collection of hotels, venues and businesses.
The location is easily accessible on the Elizabeth Line and DLR (Custom House Station).
Travel on the Elizabeth Line to these stations is quick and straightforward:
Canary Wharf: 3 minutes
Whitechapel: 8 minutes
Abbey Wood: 9 minutes
Liverpool Street: 10 minutes
Farringdon: 12 minutes
Tottenham Court Rd: 15 minutes
Bond Street: 17 minutes
Paddington: 20 minutes
Ealing Broadway: 35 minutes
Heathrow: 43 minutes
Students are also regularly on excursions into central London throughout their studies, attending venues, showcases, professional events and other industry experiences.
What Jobs Can Event Management Lead To?
Entry-level job titles vary considerably across the industry, which is another reason not to search exclusively for jobs called “event manager”.
Someone beginning their career might progress into positions such as:
Event Assistant
Event Coordinator
Venue Coordinator
Conference Coordinator
Wedding Coordinator
Event Operations Assistant
Production Assistant
Events and Marketing Assistant
Exhibitions Coordinator
Client Services Coordinator
Hospitality Events Coordinator
Festival or Live Events Assistant
As your experience develops, opportunities can progress into event management, production, account management, venue management, operations, sales, business development and specialist event roles.
At The Event School London, 93% of graduates are working in events.
(April 2026 graduate survey)
Is Event Management Right for You?
You do not need to have your entire career mapped out at 18.
But it helps to recognise what interests you.
Event management could be worth exploring if you enjoy working with people, organising projects, creating experiences, solving problems or seeing an idea develop into something real.
It can also suit people who want variety rather than a career where every working day looks the same.
Most importantly, choose your next stage of education based on where you want it to take you.
Look beyond the name of the qualification. Ask what you will learn, who will teach you, how much contact time you receive, what experience is included and how closely your studies connect with the career you ultimately want.
Looking for an Alternative to University After School?
If you are finishing school or sixth form and already know that the events industry interests you, you do not necessarily need to spend three years studying before beginning to build your professional experience.
The Event School London's Degree Alternative in Event Management provides a focused one-year route through Levels 4, 5 and 6, combined with live event planning, specialist electives, industry experiences and a one-month internship.
The next programme starts in London on 28 September 2026.
Explore the Degree Alternative in Event Management and see whether a career-focused route into events could be the right next move for you.
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