Talent fit for the future

Learning and development professionals have a critical role to play in continually aligning the skills of today’s workforce with the business and industrial strategies of the future. So says the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) as it unveils the programme for HRD 2013, its annual learning and development event.

The two-day conference and exhibition, held at Olympia, London on 24-25 April, will focus on the L&D practitioner’s role in developing talent pipelines fit for the future, as well as developing leaders capable of driving sustainable organisation performance.

Industry speakers
Highlight speakers include Stephan Thoma, global L&D director at Google, who will focus on nurturing creativity and learning in the workplace. Peter Bedford, group head of talent and learning at Anglo American, will join CIPD CEO Peter Cheese to discuss the leadership traits required for future-fit middle and senior managers.

Elizabeth Eddy, head of skills at NHS Employers, and Jane Daly, head of L&D at M&S, will be joined by the CIPD’s skills policy adviser, Katerina Rudiger, to discuss L&D professionals’ role in equipping young people with the necessary skills to make them effective employees.

The event is designed to help professionals meet current challenges, and enable them to make an impact on their business through L&D.

The flexibility of the conference programme will help participants home in on specific areas of interest, with sessions grouped within five key themes: leadership development; learning and talent development; coaching; organisational development; and technology for learning.

Education to suit different needs
There is also a mixture of different session formats to suit people’s learning needs and interests. Case-study based sessions will provide learning and development insights from organisations in the public and private sector; interactive workshops offer practical hands-on advice and ideas while panel discussions will feature expert debate on topical L&D issues.

Contributors to case-study based sessions at the conference include Jerry Arnott, director of Civil Service Learning, who will be sharing experiences of transforming a learning culture through new technologies and a focus on workplace learning.

The role and contribution of coaching will be explored by Heather Townsend, director Expedia Group and Simon Gosney, national head of learning and development at NHS Direct. They will be looking at ways of fostering innovation.

Emma Zeeman and Louise Hutchinson, strategic director of HR and HR business partner at Avon and Somerset Constabulary, will run a workshop on how to develop clear leadership behaviours to facilitate organisational change and how to align leadership qualities and behaviours with organisational goals.

Paul McGhee of learning and development manager at Edinburgh City Council and Robert Ritchie, head of HR global retail, Gazprom Energy will be looking at ways of building a learning and talent development strategy.

Exhibition focus
Leading suppliers across the whole spectrum of learning and development will be demonstrating their latest innovations in the two-day exhibition, running alongside the conference. Designed as a highly practical event, the show gives visitors the opportunity to assess hundreds of different tools and techniques at first hand and explore different solutions to meet their particular needs.

The exhibition reflects the broad span of L&D concerns for today’s businesses, including leadership development, apprenticeships, change management, learning evaluation, e-learning, coaching and OD. New launches and previews will help practitioners to keep up-to-date.

As well as one-to-one information, product launches and expert advice, the exhibition features a free programme of free learning and networking sessions running throughout the two days of the show. 

The Technology for Learning Zone includes practical 30-minute session on topics such as social learning and mobile technology. These will range from a case-study based presentation on e-learning to tips on how to get to make the most of innovative L&D initiatives such as virtual teams and collaborative learning.

Activities in the Learning Arena demonstrate L&D tools and techniques, from identifying agile leaders to high impact experiential learning. Visitors will have the opportunity to understand and try out different approaches for themselves.

Topic Taster sessions give bite-sized updates on current issues and likely future trends. For example, a presentation entitled ‘Nourishing your workforce, have you got the right focus?’ will draw on a joint research report by learndirect and Cranfield School of Management which will look at the ABC – attittude, behaviour and competence – of employing and promoting young people. And another Topic Taster will highlight the CIPD’s own Steps Ahead mentoring programme, designed to support young job-seekers, as well as highlighting the business case for investing in young people.

Networking opportunities
There will also be plenty of networking opportunities at the show including speed networking session on the exhibition floor. This is an important part of visiting HRD 2013, whether it is to link-up with useful suppliers, get expert advice or share experiences with fellow professionals. Conference delegates and exhibition visitors can also engage in discussion on HRD developments before, during and after the event through HRD Interactive, a dedicated area on the CIPD website. Those who can’t attend in person can also keep abreast of key HRD topics through these online activities and social media such as Twitter (the show hashtag is #CIPDHRD13).

The CIPD’s annual Learning and Talent Development survey, in partnership with Cornerstone, will also be launched during HRD 2013, providing an up-to-date picture of current trends and insights into likely future developments. Now in its 15th year, the survey benchmarks L&TD core themes from coaching, courses and workshops to action learning, leadership and talent. This year’s research will also look in details at apprenticeships, union learning, social learning and metrics. A Learning Arena session, presented by the CIPD and Cornerstone, will she light on the learning metrics maze, while a Technology for Learning exhibition showcase will explore the survey’s findings on the impact of social learning.

Stock up on CPD
As well as looking at practical ideas and innovations to take back to the workplace, HRD 2013 also provides and opportunity for L&D professionals to focus on their own development. The CIPD team will be supporting delegates and visitors by offering advice on the ways that it can support their professional development and keep them up to date through membership, qualifications, new training tools and publishing resources.

As well as presentations on the CIPD stand, visitors can get more one-to-one advice by visiting the CIPD Membership and Qualifications Area on the exhibition floor.

Further information
www.cipd.co.uk/hrd