Applications for Elevate's 2025 mentorship programme are now open - and the mentoring scheme is looking for new mentees and mentors to get involved as it builds on a record-breaking 2024.
Since launching in 2015, Elevate has seen almost 2,000 alumni, building a network of event talent from all sectors of the industry. Led by event professionals Melissa Noakes, Max Fellows and Peter Kerwood, Elevate is free to join and has been designed to inspire, inform and empower people within the events industry.
2024 has seen:
A record 414 mentors and mentees from countries including the UK, USA, Canada, Spain, Germany, Philippines, UAE, and Nigeria.
More than 1,240 hours of mentoring delivered, powered by 2,838 years of combined industry experience.
This year also saw the launch of Elevate NewGen, a programme designed to open up career opportunities for young people aged 18-25. With a focus on helping underrepresented individuals – especially those from lower socio-economic backgrounds – NewGen aims to inspire the next generation to consider a career in events. It will offer tailored mentorship, live events, and a learning programme designed around their needs when it opens in the spring.
Elevate also published more episodes of its podcast series, Just One Thing, where event professionals share advice and stories based on letters to their younger selves. To date, 15 episodes have been released, featuring guests like Charlotte Saynor, head of global events and experiences at Google DeepMind, and Nina Ferguson, co-founder and CEO of INCA Productions.
Looking ahead to its 10th anniversary in 2025, Elevate has big plans to keep expanding its reach. It is rolling out a campaign to connect with final-year event management students and will continue to grow the NewGen programme.
Elevate
co-founder Melissa Noakes, head of events and sponsorship at Santander, said: “It’s astonishing to think that next
year we’ll be celebrating our 10th anniversary. What started as an idea that
Max and I came up with over dinner, back in 2015, has grown into an alumni
network of almost 2,000 people and shows no signs of slowing down. Last year,
we nearly doubled our intake of mentees and found mentors for nearly all of
them. Elevate has become a fantastic community of like-minded individuals, all
striving to support each other as much as possible.
“Over the years, we’ve witnessed
countless inspiring success stories, but there’s still so much more to achieve,
particularly in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as
supporting personal growth and transformation. 2025 will be a year to celebrate
the many successes of Elevate, and I’m looking forward to seeing it all
unfold.”
Elevate co-founder Max Fellows, founder
of allpoints, M&A experts for the events and creative sectors, said: “For our 10th anniversary, we’re
committed to making an even greater impact – with more live events, more
opportunities for community connection, and expanded avenues for learning and
mentorship. We’re growing our programme by 25 per cent, which will include a campaign
to increase the number of event management graduates joining Elevate. We
believe our community is the perfect support network for those graduates trying
to find their way in their first few months after leaving university. We have
had a lot of success with graduates in previous years, all of whom have
appreciated the help Elevate is able to offer them.
“We launched Elevate NewGen to the
industry back in the summer at the UK Creative Festival in Margate. NewGen, our
programme aimed at 18–25-year-olds, has bold plans to encourage young people
from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to consider a career in events. We’re
really excited to meet our first intake of mentees in the spring.”
Elevate invites anyone passionate about shaping the future of the events industry to apply as a mentee or mentor by February 2025. All applications can be made via the Elevate website: www.elevateme.co.
