Schoms x AVIXA: The School & College Leaver Festivals

Schoms and AVIXA Make First Steps together into Advocacy and Outreach at School & College Leaver Festival

November 2025 – Schoms, in collaboration with AVIXA, marked its first major step into advocacy and outreach at the School & College Leaver Festival at the NEC Birmingham. The initiative aimed to raise awareness of AV careers among 16–18-year-olds and highlight the diverse opportunities available across the sector.

The AV industry faces persistent skills shortages, an ageing workforce, and limited diverse representation, and young people often have little awareness of AV as a viable career path. Schoms’ outreach is not about recruiting into universities or limiting opportunities to partners or sponsors. It is about opening doors for the entire sector, inspiring the next generation of AV professionals.

The Catalyst for Action

The initiative was spearheaded by Catherine Sharman, Schoms Executive Board member, working alongside Ben Barnard from AVIXA. They identified the festival as the ideal platform to reach early-career audiences, committed financial support, and mobilised volunteers and industry partners to create a compelling presence. The time-bound nature of the event provided focus, driving the creation of resources, video profiles, and interactive content to showcase real-world AV pathways.

What Was on the Stand

Designed to attract and engage, the stand offered a wide range of interactive experiences:

Drawing and interactive screens for students to experiment and engage visually.

Podcast-style live preview setup demonstrating content creation workflows.

High-end audio stations with premium headphones for a lossless listening experience.

Pro Audio demonstrations featuring different microphone solutions.

Equipment racks for hands-on exploration and technical discussion.

AV quiz and raffle, encouraging engagement and reinforcing learning.

Presentations on career routes, including apprenticeships.

Pre-recorded video profiles highlighting diverse journeys into AV.

Who Was Involved

Volunteers from across the HE and wider AV sector joined Schoms and AVIXA, under the leadership of Catherine and Ben, to showcase the breadth of opportunities available in the industry. Students, parents, and teachers had the chance to ask questions, explore the technology, and discover career pathways that are often invisible until someone shows them.

How It Went

The stand received significant footfall and generated meaningful conversations with young people, parents, and teachers. Observing students interact with professional AV technology for the first time was a highlight for all involved. Event organisers praised the stand as unique compared with other exhibitors and expressed interest in collaborating on future regional events, potentially outside traditional funding models.

Highlight Reel

A highlight reel of the video profiles created for the event will be shared, giving students and educators the chance to explore real stories of people working in AV, from apprentices to HE technical staff. These videos demonstrate that the AV sector is diverse, innovative, and full of opportunity.

“This initiative isn’t about profit or recognition,” said Graeme Bagley, Associate Director -Schoms, “It’s about inspiring the next generation and showing them that AV careers are exciting, creative, and accessible to all." 

A huge thank you to Catherine for spearheading this, and to Ben, AVIXA and all our volunteers across the industry that helped us deliver this event.