Description
With its strategic location and diverse industrial base, the East Midlands is well positioned to drive UK economic growth, providing a pivotal moment right now – significant opportunity is in reach but needs to be unlocked, and central to this is ensuring the skills and workforce landscape is fit for purpose.
Over the last 12 months our Quarterly Economic Survey has revealed 6 out of 10 East Midlands firms have had difficulty finding employees with the required level of skill to fill a vacancy, which is holding back growth and not providing training and opportunities for those seeking employment, that align with the needs of businesses.
Through a range of keynote speakers, workshops and panel discussions the 2026 Conference will focus on the key areas that will enable economic growth, through targeted skills reform, improved recruitment, retention and productivity gains, including how we to develop sustainable interventions that support better business engagement with educators.
On the day there will be a particular focus on the key asks set out in the Chamber’s Framework for Growth, where we will explore at how we can:
- Create Flexible Skills Funds for SMEs and Microbusinesses
- Align Skills Funding with Business and Workforce Planning Cycles
- Simplify Access to Government Training and Skills Schemes
- Build a stronger, fairer and more resilient economy by developing workplaces that are inclusive, diverse and equitable.
Overview
AGENDA
- Artificial Intelligence and Employment: Implications for Young People - Professor Eva Selenko, Professor in Work Psychology, Loughborough University.
- Inclusive Growth in Practice: How EDI Is Shaping Skills Investment in the East Midlands
Latest findings from the Chamber's and emh Group research on EDI in the workplace.
- Discussion and Q&A session with Joanne Tilley, Executive Director of People and Strategy & Company Secretary, emh Group on the EDI agenda.
- Update of the current climate of employment challenges, including the impact of the Employment Rights Act, provided by the Employment Law Team at Howes Percival.
- Panel discussion - attracting and retaining talent, and improving productvity:
*Nick Benton, Partner, Howes Percival LLP
*Nikki Slack, Assistant Principal, Vision West Notts.
*Professor Eva Selenko, Professor in Work Psychology, Loughborough University
*Pino De Rosa, Founder and Managing Director, Bridgeway Consulting
WORKSHOPS:
- Why Good People Leave: Neuro-Inclusive Approaches to Skills and Retention - Marilla Bianco, Director, Work’n’Diversity CIC
- How to build a culture that embraces AI: Shared insights from 80+ interviews with real SME leaders - James Ferraby, Co-Founder & Director, Digital Planning
- Do you need health coaching skills in your team? - Dr Ollie Hart, Managing Director, Peak Health Coaching
- Unlocking Talent Pipelines: T Levels, V Levels and Levy Changes Explained -Vision West Notts College
- Before the Absence: Early Intervention for Employees Under Hidden Pressure - Dr Elizabeth Rozario, The Caregiving Journey CIC
- From Graduate Potential to Workplace Agility: Building Reflective and Adaptable Talent - Cheryl Travers, Reader in Organizational Psychology and Susan Boon, Work Opportunities and Partnerships, Careers Network, Loughborough University
- Stop Training. Start Changing: Building a Learning Culture That Sticks - Si Beales, Founder & Learning Director of Sidedoor Studio
