• Understand the current business context and the key challenges shaping workforce strategy. 
• Explore the UK government’s vision for economic growth and industrial strategy, and what this means for business. 
• Assess current and future skills challenges, and the gap between the skills system we have compared with the flexible, modular, stackable system we need. 
• Discover how businesses can align workforce planning with the skills system through levy reform, apprenticeships, skills bootcamps, and stronger education connections.
• Learn how to align workforce planning strategies with current labour market policy and regulation.  

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A dedicated networking break with your fellow delegates. 

Take the chance to have focused, three-minute conversations and make meaningful connections that expand your network in a relaxed setting.

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The following segment will consist of two sessions. You will select one of the two sessions to join.

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Workshop: Build, don’t buy – why developing talent makes business sense

Recruitment costs more than retaining talent, and organisations are under growing pressure to improve employee retention. Yet, 51% of HR practitioners have taken no steps to address retention (CIPD, September 2024).

This session will explore practical approaches to closing that gap, including:

• aligning employee potential and career aspirations with evolving business needs

• driving retention through strategic mobility programmes

• building inclusive career development frameworks that offer clarity, progression, and purpose

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Workshop: Building a strategic workforce plan fit for 2025 and beyond

Strategic Workforce Planning is at a critical inflection point. Rising volatility, uncertainty, and the rapid acceleration of AI are reshaping how organisations think about work, skills, and organisational design. At the same time, many traditional SWP approaches are no longer fit for purpose, requiring a shift toward integrated, technology-enabled, and capability-driven models.

In this session, we will explore:

• how AI is transforming roles, workflows, and organisational structures

• the interdependencies between SWP, technology & AI, leadership, and HR capability

• why we must reimagine and evolve our SWP approaches to fit with the changing world of work. 

Together, we will examine what it means to put our SWP house in order and set out a practical agenda for workforce planning for 2025 and beyond.

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The following segment will consist of two sessions. You will select one of the two sessions to join.

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Panel: AI & digital skills - Preparing your workforce for what’s next

With 11.3 million people in the UK still lacking basic digital skills (Department for Education, 2018), organisations face a pressing challenge: preparing employees for a world where AI and digital tools are transforming everyday work. At the same time, many companies are still grappling with their AI strategy and how to implement it effectively. This panel will explore how employers can close the skills gap, align workforce development with AI ambitions, and empower their people to thrive in the digital age.

Join us to:

• reflect on the evolving demands of the workplace and how to prepare your workforce for future skills needs
• learn how to integrate digital and AI capability development into your L&D strategy
• discover practical ways to support employees in confidently adopting and applying new technologies in their day-to-day roles.

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Workshop: How to use AI-powered talent analytics to shape your future workforce

Harness the power of AI and advanced talent analytics to turn workforce planning into a true competitive advantage. Discover how next-generation tools can help you anticipate change, close critical skills gaps, and align workforce strategies with the future direction of your organisation.

In this session, you will learn how to:

• leverage AI-driven talent analytics to detect emerging workforce trends and respond with agility
• predict future talent gaps and design smarter reskilling, upskilling, and hiring strategies
• use AI-powered talent analytics to make forward-looking, evidence-based decisions that fuel sustainable growth and performance.

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The following segment will consist of two sessions. You will select one of the two sessions to take part in.

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Workshop: Creating a learning mindset to boost productivity

• How to build a culture of continuous improvement and real-time feedback.

• See how agile goal-setting can empower teams to adapt to shifting business priorities.

• Strategies for aligning performance with organisational outcomes, improving talent retention and boosting productivity.

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Case study: How National Grid is scaling workforce planning to secure its future talent needs

As the UK accelerates towards net zero, National Grid faces unprecedented challenges in ensuring it can meet its short-and-long-term resourcing needs. Scaling the workforce, collaborating with the supply chain, and building out our talent-based approach to critical roles and skills have all been key components of our strategy. This case study shares how National Grid is approaching workforce planning at pace and scale to meet these challenges.

• Explore how National Grid is positioning itself and how the combined challenges of growth and attrition created “the perfect storm.”
•  Gain insight into their internal workforce planning journey – from a blank canvas, to the strategic, to the operational.
•  How workforce planning has identified critical roles, skills, and talent management.
• The need to collaborate with the Supply Chain to match talent needs.
• Hear about what we have learnt from our journey so far.

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As more people work into their 70s, and the workforce becomes more age-diverse,  organisations must rethink how they support their talent at every stage. In this panel we will discuss:

• tailoring development to align with employee aspirations at each stage of their career
• strategies to keep employees engaged in their growth while fostering talent development across the organisation, regardless of generation or career stage
• managing intergenerational dynamics and designing workplaces that meet diverse expectations while strengthening workplace cohesion.

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This session will consist of two presentations, followed by a joint Q&A.

A) Presentation: Building a more agile and adaptable workforce by taking a skills first approach to organisational design 

As the nature of work evolves, organisations are reimaging how talent is structured, not just around jobs, but around skills. This session explores how to embed a skills-first approach into your organisation design.

• What tools and frameworks can help you operationalise a skills-first approach across talent, workforce planning and organisational design?
• How can you shift from traditional job description to skill-based roles?
• How can a capability-focused organisational structure break down silos, support internal mobility and future proof your workforce?

Speaker: Adam Gibson, Author of Agile Workforce Planning

B) Presentation: How can you develop your workforce to have the right skills for the future?

This session focuses on how to actively develop people with the skills needed for an evolving future. It will explore:

• how can you identify future-critical skills and utilise skill taxonomies to grow skills in employees
• design targeted upskilling and reskilling initiatives that can build skills in employees and close critical skill gaps
• enabling your line managers and leaders to foster a culture of continuous skill development and growth.

Speaker: Coming soon

15:55 - 16:15 Joint Q&A

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