From the 18th – 20th November Protocol exhibited at the AoC Annual Conference 2014, which took place in Birmingham. Protocol is proud to have supported the AoC Conference for 9 years now. This year’s conference welcomed over 1500 key decision makers and exhibitors from the FE sector and hosted a breadth of breakout sessions covering important current topics.
Following on from last year’s theme, the Protocol exhibition stand was again transformed in to a state of the art coffee bar. This new look Protocol coffee bar served over 1,000 cups of tea and coffee during the event and was one of the major talking points of the exhibition, with most delegates returning on numerous occasions to get their caffeine fix.
The atmosphere created by the coffee bar encouraged discussion with delegates and it was great for the Protocol team to really get a feel of the main issues that the FE sector are currently dealing with. So much so, that the team received an unprecedented amount of new enquiries at the conference with exceptional demand for conversations regarding Protocol’s Interim, International and E-safeguarding services.
Viv Cruickshank, CEO of Protocol said: “I very much enjoyed this year’s conference; it was great to catch up with many of our clients and get their feedback on our services. It was also fantastic to make some new acquaintances and get the opportunity to talk about the potential of doing work with new clients. The quality of the conversations we had this year at the conference has been unprecedented. It was clear that colleges still recognise Protocol as the provider of choice for all HR and staffing needs and we are delighted to be able to continue to help colleges and the wider sector as a whole.”
Tuesday evening of the conference saw the FE Week Charity Auction, raising money for the Helena Kennedy Foundation. Protocol donated a Flyboarding experience which was auctioned off for £275. We wish the happy bidder all the best for the experience day.
On the Wednesday of the conference the Protocol prize draw for the Helena Kennedy Foundation bursary worth £2,000 was made. The lucky winner pulled out of a hat, or an empty chocolate box, was Dr. Nikos Savvas, Principal of West Suffolk College. Congratulations to Dr. Savvas and the college!
Viv Cruickshank added: “I would like to thank all of our clients and all the delegates and exhibitors who came to visit us over the three days for making the conference such a great place to be and a success. We’ll see you all again next year!”
Other conference highlights included Simon Graham, Director of International at Protocol filming a piece for FE News on his perspective of the International skills market.
Ian Sackree, Chief Operating Officer at Protocol was another filmed by FE News. Ian was speaking about the changes in the sector whereby colleges are struggling to cope with staffing gaps and are utilising the Interim market to fill the void.
The Protocol Team would like to thank everyone who visited our stand at the conference and look forward to continuing these relationships in the future.
