Programme

09.15 – 09.50

Shifting from training to transformation – What role should L&D play in business transformation?

Stacey Marshall, Interim Director of Workforce and Capability, IDG

10.00 – 11.00

Rethinking how we learn, adapt and succeed – a curious mindset

Robin Hoyle, World of Learning Conference Chair & Author

KEYNOTE: Matthew Syed, Best-selling Author and influential thought leader 

11.10 – 11.50

Change management for the successful implementation of AI at work

• Where L&D should sit within company-wide AI upskilling
• Keeping pace with a rapidly shifting landscape
• What works and what doesn’t when introducing AI training
• Moving AI learning initiatives beyond isolated experimentation, towards sustained and measurable impact

Artem Ivanenko, Head of Learning, inDrive
Allison Pemberton, Head of Learning and Development, Voyage Care

 

11.30 – 12.10

Turning accidental managers into capable managers

• Practical methods for supporting new and early-career managers
• The cost of waiting five years to develop a newly-promoted manager
• Using the Growth and Skills Levy funding to support aspiring and early-career managers
• Specialist career pathways

Rick Bradley, Head of Learning Delivery and Curriculum Development, Change. Grow. Live.
Josie Bishop, Global Lead for Leadership and Talent, IHS Towers

 

12.05 – 12.45

Capability development in low-capacity organisations

13.40 – 14.20

How is L&D using a “talent approach” to support progression and skills development?

• Talent owned by the business
• Managing current performance and developing future potential,
• Moving from discrete learning programmes towards joined-up talent ecosystems
• L&D as the engine for internal mobility, progression, and skills development

Jo Sutcliffe, Group Head of L&D, BAUWatch Group
Dani Saadu, Global Head of Talent Management, Wireless Logic
Pash Reddy, Senior Director – Global Head of Learning, S&P Global

 

13.45 – 14.25

Practical applications of AI in learning

• Using AI scenarios to build capability 
• Rapid development for content 
• Let AI do the heavy lifting so we can focus on high-impact human interactions 
• Avoiding overload and AI slop

Samir Das, AI Learning & Knowledge Technology Architect, Meta

Amanda Valentine, L&D Executive, IT, Softcat

14.30 – 15.10

“Learning is just part of the job” – achieving this critical culture shift

• Is the typical L&D operating model built for a world that no longer exists and is it preventing learning?
• The shift from owning learning to enabling learning
• Is “learning culture” a myth?
• Becoming learning architects rather than consumers of L&D products

Murray Furlong, Director, Organisational Learning, Coca-Cola
Jess Falconer, Senior Director, Change Experience and Organisational Development, Audible

14:45 – 15:25

Measurement & ROI & Business objectives

• Designing learning initiatives backwards from the business outcomes
• A user-centric approach to learning design
• Triangulating multiple data sources to evaluate impact

Helen Chesney, Head of Learning Skills and Talent Management, Ipsos
Daniel Chapman-Harris, Head of L&D, Octopus Investments

 

 

15.15 – 15.55

Designing learning ecosystems – Learning in the flow of work

• What learning in the flow of work looks like in practice
• How learning ecosystems are built deliberately, with values used to shape leadership development across a rapidly growing, multi-country, multi-business organisation
• When learning sticks – social connection, psychological safety, and a sense of “serious fun”
• Practical ideas for making learning feel more human

Emma Heaps, Group Head of L&D, Pest Control Partnership
Mark Webb, Global Head of L&D, Capgemini

15.10 – 15.45

Is the problem learner engagement or content overload?

• The case for marketing learning opportunities around what’s in it for the colleague
• Shifting away from content volume and towards data and impact
• The case for marketing learning opportunities around what’s in it for the colleague

Jodie Pritchard, Director of L&D, Barnardos
Rachel Wood, Group Head of Learning and Talent Development, Optimo Care Group (former)

 

16.10 – 16.50

Community Exchange: Skills-based organisations and workforce fluidity

Take part in roundtable discussions with L&D thought leaders and fellow Delegates in this interactive and collaborative session

Rosie Martin, L&D Manager, FareShare UK
Jess Smith, Head of L&D, The Richmond Fellowship (Scotland)
Rebecca McDowall, Chair, The Learning Network
Ellie Westgarth-Flynn, Senior Organisational Development Advisor, NHS GCC
Tom McDowall, Founder, Evolve
James Warburton, Capability & Development Senior Lead, Skipton Building Society
Gemma Glover, Head of L&D, Cezanne HR

9.15 – 9.50

Leading learning in a time of fear and disruption

Julian Stodd, Evidence-Based Practitioner, Founder, Sea Salt Learning & Author

10.00 – 11.00

What happens to learning when work itself changes?

Robin Hoyle, World of Learning Conference Chair & Author

Prithwiraj Choudhury, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, London School of Economics & Political Science, Associate Editor, Management Science & Strategic Management Journal

11.10 – 11.50

Building adaptive leadership skills for an era of complexity

• What humans uniquely bring when the pace becomes relentless
• Why most leadership development is still built for a pace of change that no longer exists, and what has to shift for programmes to meet leaders in the ongoing, messy reality of their working lives
• Shaping performance in the moments that matter

Sarah-Jane Bellion, Leadership Capability Manager, Centre Parcs
Phil Reddall, Principal advisor, The Capability Advisory

11.30 – 12.10

L&D interventions to foster human connections and effective learning experience in an AI world

• Designing for connection alongside content, through peer learning, facilitated discussion, and shared problem-solving
• Curating moments that demand human judgement, with case-based work and live simulations grounded in ethical reasoning, perspective-taking, and adaptability
• Blending AI-driven personalisation with social learning

Justin Chave, Head of L&D, Kallidus
Pauline Rebourgeon, Head of Learning Technology and Innovation, Ericsson

 

12.05 – 12.45

Successful apprenticeship schemes: Strategies for learner retention

• The new landscape of apprenticeships
• Aligning apprenticeship programmes with business needs and addressing skills gaps
• Strategic skills development

Julia Paci, Partnership Development Manager, Degree Apprenticeships, University of Exeter

Qasim Iqbal, Early Careers Lead UK, HSBC

13.35 – 14.10

Learning strategy: the skills-based organisation of the future

Teresa Rose, Director, ConsultHer Ltd
Michelle Connon-Roodt, Global Technology Enablement Leader
Mark Jackson, Head of Future Workforce, Nationwide Building Society 
Jonathan Marshall, Head of Core Skills and Learning, Government Skills, Government People Group – UK Gov

 

14.15 – 14.55

Using learning data as a business performance driver

• How learning data can be used to improve and deepen learning experiences, not just report on impact
• Approaches to creating adaptive learning experiences

Kelly Rodrigues, L&D Manager, Web Pros
Brian O’Connell, Lead Learning Designer, Analog Device

 

14.30 – 15.10

Learning transfer, not learning completion

• What behaviours should look different if learning has transferred?
• How closely does our training reflect the reality of people’s day-to-day work?
• What needs to be true in the workplace for learning to stick?
• If we stopped tracking completions, how would we know learning had worked?

Nick Mongan, Learning Design Manager, BT Group
Melanie Martinelli, Institute for Transfer Effectiveness

15.00 – 15.30

Building your AI strategy with evidence, not guesswork

• Fosway’s AI insights research and what it tells us about current and future practice

Fiona Leteney, Senior Analyst, Fosway Group

 

 

15.35 – 15.50

AI, Adoption and Agency: Supporting learning transfer to the workplace

• AI adoption is low. How low? Why?
• Business as usual –  AI and L&D as drivers of change
• Agents need Agency – cool phrase, what does it mean in practice?

Robin Hoyle, World of Learning Conference Chair & Author