Event and exhibition organiserChris Mason is an exhibition supervisor at Techniquest, an interactive science discovery centre in Cardiff, South Wales. He has worked there for seven years. What does your job involve? At weekends, I’m exhibition supervisor. I’m in charge of a team of 15 exhibition assistants known as helpers. My key role is to ensure the smooth running of the centre, and to manage the helper team. With an exhibition, four science theatre shows, seven planetarium shows and four workshops per day, I’m kept very busy! During the week, I assist the supervisor and work as a helper. What do ‘helpers’ do? Helpers work in visitor areas, either on the admissions desk or on the exhibitions. We have lots of school visits for our education programme. The helpers manage visits and ensure each group gets to theatre shows, has lunch and time to enjoy the exhibition. They also answer questions, and help people to use interactive exhibits. Do you have any regular routines? As supervisor, I prepare the till float first thing, organise change as needed, then cash up takings at the end of the day. Otherwise, it is a case of responding to visitors and what’s happening on the day. Is it always busy with visitors? It is pretty busy all year round. Summer’s busier, especially during the school holidays, although we can be quiet if the weather is really hot – everyone wants to be outdoors! We have lots of school bookings throughout the year and, when it’s raining, the visitors come flooding in. It’s a lively environment, with background noise from some exhibits as well as noise from all the visitors. What hours do you work? I work five days a week. My two days off are during the week. Techniquest is open all year except for the Christmas period and a few days in September, for maintenance work. Did you need specific qualifications? Not really, as I started here through work experience. This led to becoming a helper during weekends, school and university holidays. I enjoyed it so much, I took up the full-time supervisor job when I left university. Have you had on-the-job training? There is a helper training programme, starting with an induction, then a shadow programme to learn from experienced staff. I’ve also done the Welcome Host customer care course, manual handling, health and safety, and first aid at work. What skills do you need for the job? Patience and good communication skills are the most important. You have to listen carefully to visitors’ enquiries and comments. This creates the right environment for visitors too. Do you use computers? Yes, but not much. I spend most of my time on my feet mixing with the public. What do you like best about your job? I enjoy working with people all day. It’s great fun here. The atmosphere is bustling and every day is different. What has been your biggest challenge? During National Science week, an exhibitor thought one of his snakes was missing. I had to instigate a search quickly without causing panic or concern. It turned out the missing snake was curled up at home! What about your future? I’m in no rush to move to another job. I am quite young to be a supervisor and I’m getting a lot out of it. I’m happy as I am for now! Chris’s route
Chris’s tips
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