Progression from Showsec Steward to Local Mayor

Since May 2018, Javid Iqbal has been Mayor of Oldham following his time as Labour councillor. As an ambassador for the Northern town, Javid represents and raises the profile of the Borough. But, before taking on this role, Javid was an active member of the Showsec team.

As a prominent figure in his local community, Javid believes that his experience with Showsec provided him the platform to gain the skills he needed to make it to Mayor.

Javid’s Showsec journey started when the 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester. Applying to work as a casual Steward for the games, Javid became part of history as the games were the largest in Commonwealth history, featuring 281 events across 17 sports.

At this point, little did Javid know that he would quickly progress from a Steward position to a Supervisor role in 3 months and complete this development ahead of the highly anticipated event. Taking two weeks off from his full-time IT job in a high-street bank to work the Commonwealth Games, Javid managed 25-30 Stewards and was provided with substantial training.

With substantial training on offer and the opportunity to grow, Javid continued to work for Showsec in the city of Manchester once the games had ended. In the 12 years he worked for Showsec, Javid worked over 700 events, liaising with clients and stakeholders including the police and local authorities and communicating with members of the public to ensure their experiences were positive ones.

Before joining Showsec, Javid explained that he was once shy and quiet. He believes that Showsec gave him a new-found confidence and pushed him out of his comfort zone to become a professional public speaker, develop his skills in management and leadership to achieve his title of Mayor of Oldham today.

Showsec are dedicated to career progression and have a Training and Development Centre with over 30 qualified and highly-skilled trainers. Innovative e-learning modules are available to staff, along with practical training courses which provide a pathway from entry level through to degree level with Showsec’s bespoke Management Development Programme.

Alan Wallace, Regional Manager for the North West, worked with Javid and says “Javid’s career with Showsec is a shining example of how our company broadens experiences, gives confidence and opens opportunities to go on to do very special things.

Javid is a role model for those aspiring to develop public speaking, learn new skills and practice leadership.”

Find out more about the Mayor and donate to the Mayor’s charities here.