Sound advice

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SAE recently launched a Pro DJ course in Dubai for serious enthusiasts keen to emulate the great French DJ Charles Schillings.

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In the Mix’s Nash Planojevic.

There is a surprising array of training and education programmes available to budding - and experienced - AV professionals based in the Middle East.

Pro audio training services provider SAE Institute is opening new branches across the region, while a host of smaller independent organisations are enjoying unprecedented demand for their training services.

In-house training is an option that larger organisations can explore whilst AV equipment manufacturers will gladly offer product-specific training services to those willing to travel to their headquarters, which are often located outside the region.

Yet, despite these options, many stakeholders are struggling to find adequate solutions to their training requirements.

There are plenty of very experienced, qualified professionals working in the local industry but relying on these few to coach more inexperienced technical crews on-the-job can often prove challenging. After all, the dynamic and constantly evolving nature of the business means even these ‘old heads' will require training in new skill-sets from time to time.

According to Giorgio Ungania, corporate training manager at SAE, one significant challenge facing businesses in the Middle East is finding the time to train staff in mastering the latest AV kit to hit the market.

"For example, most AV professionals working in the hospitality sector cannot spare the time for training due to workload demands," he says. "The number of events being staged at hotel venues, particularly in Dubai, is incredible."

SAE offers a variety of training programmes and regularly reviews its equipment inventory, investing in new AV technology as it sees fit.

However, Ungania says that the organisation is careful to ensure that whatever technology it invests in is designed to meet a specific demand from clients. He says it is also important to ensure that SAE's staff can be efficiently trained in the technology. Ungania describes the situation as a balancing act; large investments in equipment will either eat into the organisation's revenues or drive up prices for training schemes.

There are also certain logistical considerations involved in providing AV training services, as Ungania explains.

"With live events in particular, the main issue relates to physical space. We cannot simulate a large-scale live event here [in our classrooms] because you need a full-scale PA system to do so," he says. "We can cover the basics but to put that knowledge into practice would require a client to shut down their facilities, which means they might have to turn away business."

In the hospitality sector, the Marriott Group is recognised as an industry leader in providing professional AV training services to its staff via its in-house MVP International scheme.

Doru Barsan, AV manager at Marriott Group hotel The Ritz-Carlton Doha, is one of three AV professionals working in the Middle East to have acquired a level three certificate under the MVP Programme.

He says the time it takes and the cost involved in training staff under the programme is justified.

"The courses are organised by MVP and then completed online with some on-site training. With AV technology playing an increasingly important role in meetings and conferences staged at our hotels, the requirement for these types of programmes is becoming increasingly important," he claims. "We have seen a marked increase in demand for AV services from our clients. As a result, it has become very important that we provide properly trained staff to assist them and ensure that their needs are met.

"Many Ritz-Carlton clients are demanding access to cutting-edge videoconferencing technologies as a cost-effective means to communicating with staff or their own clients based in locations worldwide."

With so many hotels and rival venues competing to stage corporate events, professionally trained staff can also prove a deciding factor when it comes to clients settling upon a venue for their event.

"Quality is a fundamental consideration. If you operate a 5-star hotel and your AV equipment is not up to scratch you will eventually be found out," says Ungania.

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