Growing skills mismatches can’t be addressed by schools and qualifications alone

The pace of change in modern business and industry is driving a growing mismatch between the skills businesses need and those they find readily available in the labour market. Education and qualifications cannot be expected to keep pace with this rate of change, creating a challenge and an opportunity to be seized by the learning and development (L&D) profession. As a profession, we have a critical role to play in continually aligning the skills of today’s workforce with the business and industrial strategies of the future. That’s according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) as the programme for its annual learning and development event is unveiled.

The HRD Conference and Exhibition will focus on the L&D professional’s role in developing talent pipelines fit for the future, as well as developing leaders capable of driving sustainable organisation performance. Highlight seminars include:

• Stephan Toma, Global L&D Director at Google, will look at how to train and retain skilled, talented employees who will assist in the long-term success of the business, as well as how to align your L&D strategy to the future needs of the business. See here for more detail: A1 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. See here for more detail: B1 Developing leaders who are fit for the future.
• 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. See here for more detail: E2 Learning to work: developing young employees for a long-term talent pipeline
• Peter Hawkins, Professor of Leadership at Henley Business School, will deliver a workshop focused on assessing the collective performance of leadership teams and how to engage them on their collective development journey. See here for more detail: W2 Creating collective leadership teams that are more than the sum of their parts
• 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. See here for more detail: W4 Identifying and developing leadership capabilities
• Lee Sears, Director of Global Organisational Transformation at Bridge Partnership, will deliver a workshop on how to understand the future challenges of your business and develop talent with the appropriate skills to meet them. See here for more detail: W6: Developing and retaining talent for tomorrow’s business challenges
• Aongus McGrane, Head of Learning & Organisational Development at NHS Blood and Transplant, and Dave Buglass, Head of Learning at Tesco Bank, will showcase their innovative approaches to promoting culture change through L&D as well as how they have driven talent and performance by developing values-based leadership qualities. See here for more detail: I2 Building values-based leadership to create a learning culture

The full conference programme can be viewed at www.cipd.co.uk/hrdconf

Alongside the conference, hundreds of innovative learning and development services and resources will be showcased at the HRD 2013 exhibition. The free exhibition provides an opportunity for L&D professionals to explore different options at first hand and find the right fit for their organisation.
Leading suppliers at the show reflect the broad span of learning and development 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 and advice from exhibitors, a programme of free learning and networking sessions on the exhibition floor running throughout the two days of the show provide further updates and insights:

• The Technology for Learning Zone includes practical 30-minute sessions on topics such as e-learning and mobile technology.
• Activities in the Learning Arena demonstrate L&D tools and techniques, from identifying agile leaders to high impact experiential learning.
• Topic Taster sessions give bite-sized updates on current issues and likely future trends.