Agenda - Skills & Employability Summit

8:30 am - 9:15 am

Registration and Breakfast

9:00 am - 9:15 am

Exhibition and Networking

9:15 am - 9:20 am

Chair’s Opening Address

Speakers

Bethan Staton

Public Policy Reporter

The Financial Times

Confirmed

9:20 am - 9:40 am

Opening Keynote Address from the Minister for Industry

Advancing Britain’s business with a focus on skills and employability
The impact of the levelling up agenda and its impact on regional growth
The intersection of Net Zero and the current skills market

Speakers

Lee Rowley MP

Minister for Industry

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Confirmed

9:40 am - 10:00 am

Opening Keynote Address from the Minister for Employment

The vision for transforming access to the labour market through skills
Adult training and reskilling opportunities to support access to employment
Integrating green skills for the workforce of today and the future

Speakers

Mims Davies MP

Minister for Employment

Department for Work and Pensions

Confirmed

10:00 am - 10:20 am

Championing Digital Leadership in FE

Putting skills and digital leadership at the centre of FE
Transforming and bringing innovation into the FE sector

Speakers

Robin Ghurbhurun

Managing Director - Further Education and Skills

Jisc

Confirmed

10:20 am - 11:00 am

Mind the Gap! The Scale of the Skills Shortage and How We Can Tackle It

Assessing the UK’s largest skills gaps
How HE, FE, employers, local and central government can collaborate to close the skills gap
Priorities for addressing the skills shortage- looking at apprenticeships, T-Levels, adult skills investment and the Lifelong Loan Entitlement

Chair

Bethan Staton

Public Policy Reporter

The Financial Times

Confirmed

Speakers

Craig Myers

Deputy Director - Higher Technical Education

Department for Education

Confirmed

Rachel Hewitt

Chief Executive

MillionPlus

Confirmed

Matthew Percival

Programme Director - Skills & Inclusion

CBI

Confirmed

Lewis Cooper

Director

Independent Commission on the College of the Future

Confirmed

Councillor Emily Smith

Leader of Council, Vale of White Horse District Council in Oxfordshire &

Vice-Chair, LGA People and Places Board

Confirmed

11:00 am - 11:30 am

Exhibition and networking

11:30 am - 12:00 pm

SPOTLIGHT on England: Responding to England’s Skills Gaps

Creating effective initiatives that respond to market needs and consider context
Employability and skills gaps specific to England’s labour market and the north/south divide
Looking at Lancashire’s local response with their skills pledge and potential solutions such as digital skills partnerships, the Escalate programme, and bootcamps
Download the highlights from this session here.

Speakers

Elena Magrini

Head of Global Research

Lightcast (formerly Emsi Burning Glass)

Confirmed

Lisa Moizer

Manager and Co-ordinator

Lancashire Skills & Employment Hub

Confirmed

11:30 am - 12:00 pm

A Cultural Transformation: Overcoming Obstacles to Promote Recruitment and Retention for People with Disability and Neurodiversity

Identifying and removing the barriers
Developing a culture of openness around difference in the workplace
Applying this culture to recruitment

Speakers

Chris Jay

Managing Director

Bascule Disability Training

Confirmed

11:30 am - 12:00 pm

SPOTLIGHT on Northern Ireland: Assessing and Responding to Northern Ireland’s Needs

Assessing Northern Ireland’s skills and employability requirements
Interventions to support the labour market’s needs and their effectiveness
Looking forward to the future skills landscape
Download the highlights from this session here.

Speakers

Graeme Wilkinson

Director of Skills Strategy and Policy

Department for the Economy NI

Confirmed

Gareth Hetherington

Director of the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre (NICEP)

Ulster University

Confirmed

12:05 pm - 12:45 pm

SPOTLIGHT on Wales: Connecting Qualifications and Employability

Education institutions coming together to manage the skills and learner journey
Reimagining the relationship between qualifications and employability
Embedding skills at all parts of the education journey
Download the highlights from this session here.

Chair

Yusuf Ibrahim

Assistant Principal

Cardiff and Vale College

Confirmed

Speakers

Prof. Jacqui Boddington

Pro Vice-Chancellor Student Engagement

Cardiff Metropolitan University

Confirmed

Louise Harris

Chief Executive Officer

Tramshed Tech

Confirmed

12:10 pm - 12:40 pm

Sustainability and Clean Energy: Building the Skills of Tomorrow Today

The impact of the skills gap on the workforce’s sustainability and clean energy skills
Futureproofing skills and developing clear career pathways into green jobs
Building partnerships between industry, education and local authorities to make net zero a reality

Speakers

Helena Tinker

Assistant Director - Environment and Sustainability

Manchester Metropolitan University

Confirmed

Megan Thomas

Education and Outreach Lead

Hinkley Point C Project, EDF

Confirmed

12:10 pm - 12:40 pm

SPOTLIGHT on Scotland: The Digital Skills Landscape

Emerging market opportunities
Focusing on tackling a digital skills shortage
Training for women, ethnic minority groups and others underrepresented across Scotland
Download the highlights from this session here.

Speakers

Phil Ford

Head of Digital Technologies and Financial Services Skills

Skills Development Scotland

Confirmed

Dr Bill Mitchell OBE

Director of Policy

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT

Confirmed

12:40 pm - 1:40 pm

Lunch, Exhibition, Networking

1:40 pm - 2:10 pm

Interview with Ilyas Khan: From Sci-Fi to Reality – The Possibility of Quantum Computing

The mission of Cambridge Quantum and how quantum technology is reshaping sectors
Opportunities for growth in a transformative industry and the skills required to access them
The impact of quantum computing in addressing climate science and clean energy

Speakers

Ilyas Khan

Founder & CEO, Cambridge Computing

CEO, Quantinuum

Confirmed

Dr Araceli Venegas-Gomez

Director

QURECA

Confirmed

2:10 pm - 2:50 pm

Viva la Fourth Industrial Revolution? The Adoption of Automation and Its Impact on Skills

How AI and automation have revolutionised the workplace in the medical, legal, defence and telecoms sectors
The impact of automation on the workforce’s skills
Plugging the skills gap with automation and the issue of bias and ethics in adopting AI and automation

Chair

Prof Phillip Brown

Distinguished Research Professor - School of Social Sciences

Cardiff University

Confirmed

Speakers

Dr Ann Thanaraj

Assistant Academic Registrar (Digital Transformation), Teesside University

Founder and Host, Digital Lawyering

Confirmed

Dr Dan Warren

Director - Advanced Research Network

Samsung

Confirmed

Ian Vickers

CEO

Metcloud

Confirmed

Dr Bharadwaj Chada

National Medical Director's Clinical Fellow

NHS

Confirmed

2:50 pm - 3:30 pm

Qualified for the Future? Approaches to Learning and Measuring Skills

Assessing whether traditional degrees and diplomas in higher education provide the skills required in a modern workplace
Bringing together higher education, further education and employers to give workers recognised qualifications
Considering how the education sector approaches employability and careers advice including T-levels and apprenticeships to teach vocational skills