Future Talent Forum 2025 - Next-Gen Workforce - Rethinking Learning and Development for Competitive Advantage
Next-Gen Workforce - Rethinking Learning and Development for Competitive Advantage
The capabilities needed to attract, retain and develop talent have shifted dramatically in today’s evolving world of work. As organisations adapt to geopolitical shifts, rapid technological transformation and AI, shifting workforce demographics and the rise of conditional commitment, the role of Learning and Organisational Development (L&OD) is becoming increasingly central to business success. Identifying and addressing skills gaps within the workforce is a continuous challenge, especially as the demand for new skills evolves. Developing sustainable future talent pipelines for growth is now a shared priority for enterprises, individuals, and universities.
Addressing key trends in learning and organisational development, the Enterprise Academy at TU Dublin invited learning and development leaders, HR professionals, and industry decision-makers to theFuture Talent Forum 2025: Next-Gen Workforce: Rethinking Learning and Development for Competitive Advantage in the Concert Hall, TU Dublin on June 17th, 2025.
Driving organisational success and talent retention
The forum focused on key L&OD trends, including understanding and addressing critical and emerging skills, building talent development roadmaps for constantly changing skill demands, leveraging AI, maximising learning investment, creating blended learning strategies, and fostering a culture of continuous learning to drive organisational success and retention.
Participants had the opportunity to learn from industry leaders, engage in interactive discussions, and network with peers and experts shaping the future of skills and talent development. The event aimed to provide insights into how learning and talent development can be strategic drivers of organisational success in building a resilient, future-ready workforce.
The event presented a unique opportunity for L&D leaders to challenge perspectives and learn from leading talent experts such as international talent strategist and LinkedIn's first CHRO Steve Cadigan; Danny McCoy Ibec, CEO; Helen McMahon, Skills, Policy & Strategic Partnerships Lead, Enterprise Ireland; Lilly Ellis Director of Workplace Experience, NetApp; James Burke, Food and Retail Sectors expert and Gráinne Barry, SVP Global Operations at Stats Perform and Founder of SportsTech Ireland and many others.
Collaboration, responsiveness and impact
Opening the Future Talent Forum 2025 - Next-Gen Workforce - Rethinking Learning and Development for Competitive Advantage, the Enterprise Academy’s annual event for talent development professionals at Technological University Dublin, Dr. Claire Mc Bride, head of the Enterprise Academy and Convene Project Lead of Convene said:
“Ireland as one of the most highly educated countries in the world. Education has played a central role in transforming Ireland's fortunes. But as our population grows and the world of work continues to evolve at pace, sustained and strategic investment in higher education is essential. That means not only expanding access, but also strengthening quality, relevance and pathways across the full spectrum of learning, from academic to technical, from early career to lifelong learning.
TU Dublin has a long and proud tradition of collaboration. At its heart, the Enterprise Academy is about collaboration, responsiveness and impact. It embodies TU Dublin's commitments, grounded in the legacy of our three founding institutions, to ensuring that higher education plays a proactive and enabling role in meeting the talent, challenges and opportunities faced by our partners across the economy.
We're privileged to welcome a highly skilled and experienced group of senior leaders bringing deep insight and perspective to today's conversations. At the heart of what we do as a university is empowering people to become their best selves, to fulfil their true potential. We're also, engaged in ensuring that our partners and our partner organisations can achieve their true strategic imperatives."
Dr. Mc Bride defined the key themes for discussion at the forum. Due to a rapidly shifting world of work, learning and development is influenced by several factors including:
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Evolving Work Dynamics: The current landscape necessitates a fundamental re-evaluation of learning and development strategies due to significant shifts in the world of work. This includes technological advancements such as AI impacting traditional entry-level opportunities and graduate programs. There is a notable change in workforce preferences, exemplified by Gen Z increasingly opting for freelancing to gain more agency and predictability in their careers, moving away from permanent employment as a default. These factors collectively demand a new approach to how we consider workplace learning and the needs of the evolving workforce.
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Strategic Human-Centric AI Integration for Competitiveness: While AI is readily available, scalable, and affordable, its presence does not inherently confer a competitive advantage. The crucial differentiator lies in the strategic and human-centric application of AI; it is how teams and workforces leverage AI that will truly drive competitiveness. This highlights the need to focus on developing the skills and mindsets within the workforce that enable effective and innovative utilisation of AI.
Guest speakers and information sessions
With a packed agenda the morning sessions consisted of presentations and informative sessions from each of our guest speakers: Steve Cadigan, Talent Strategist and LinkedIn's first CHRO; Danny McCoy, CEO Ibec and Helen McMahon, Skills, Policy & Strategic Partnerships Lead, Enterprise Ireland and Ailbhe Roche, Enterprise Academy Manager.
"Universities, businesses, governments are facing more new challenges than any time in history. We have more new industries being born than anytime in history, which comes with new career paths. There are more companies letting people go while they're hiring than any point in history. We've got the foot on the gas and the foot on the brake simultaneously. We've not seen the supply of qualified people shrink to the degree that it's in right now. So how do we prepare for a future for ourselves, for our teams, for our families. We need to understand the landscape really well," Steve continues.
"This whole notion of people are just not loyal today. Oh yes, they are. They're more loyal, just not to you. They're loyal to learning." Steve suggests a fundamental shift in what motivates employees and reframes the concept of employee loyalty, suggesting that individuals are primarily committed to continuous learning and personal growth rather than to a single employer.
For employers, this implies that retaining talent is less about promising a lifelong job and more about providing avenues for growth and skill acquisition. Employees will stay if they feel they are growing and developing and more adaptable for future challenges. If an organisation fails to provide these learning opportunities, employees are likely to seek them elsewhere, not because they are inherently disloyal, but because their primary loyalty is to their own development and marketability. Steve's perspective redefines engagement, suggesting that a better measure might be "how many came back, to an organisation at a future point in their career "highlighting the importance of building alumni communities and fostering a continuous learning environment that encourages loyalty and people to return.
Download Steve Cadigan's presentation here:
Future-Proofing Ireland: Talent, Innovation, and the Drive for Global Competitiveness
Keynote speaker Danny McCoy, CEO of Ibec, presented on "Future-Proofing Ireland: Talent, Innovation, and the Drive for Global Competitiveness at the Future Talent Forum 2025: Next-Gen Workforce at Technological University Dublin.
The global stage on which Irish companies compete is intensifying. For Ireland to remain open and primed for success, we must significantly intensify our competitive offering. While Ireland has built an open, agile, and high-performing economy that attracts global investment, our future competitiveness hinges on our ability to adapt, upskill, and innovate.
A critical challenge Danny highlighted is that despite Ireland ranking high in Europe for third-level education participation, we are underinvesting in the future of this sector and lagging behind competitors in lifelong learning. Many countries have already upskilled their workforces and are outpacing us in key strategic areas.
Danny discussed how learning and talent development are key to staying competitive in a disruptive world. He challenged us to rethink how we develop talent with the agility, resilience, and creativity needed to navigate tomorrow's unknowns. Greater alignment is needed between education, government, and enterprise to enable a truly responsive workforce and talent system.
Sustainable Enterprise and the Talent Pipeline: Partnership as Competitive Advantage
Helen McMahon, Skills Policy and Strategic Partnership Lead at Enterprise Ireland delivered her presentation Sustainable Enterprise and the Talent Pipeline: Partnership as Competitive Advantage, outlining why workforce planning agility is a central response to disruption and sharing insights that confirm talent and skills are the top strategic challenge facing Irish companies today. Helen is discussing talent and skills priorities and intervention and explaining how strategic collaboration is helping meet these needs - with a particular focus on supporting SMEs - at every stage of a company's growth journey.
In terms of the Future of Work, Helen explained that capability building for driving competitive advantage must include:
- Leadership and management development
- Workforce planning and horizon scanning
- Cross-industry agility in both SMEs and multinational companies
- A design thinking approach to support HR and workforce transformation.
Download Helen McMahon's presentation here:
Enterprise and University Engagement - Helen Mc Mahon, Future Talent Forum 2025 presentation
Harnessing Potential: Understanding the part-time professional learner
Ailbhe Roche, TU Dublin Enterprise Academy Manager explored research conducted by the Enterprise Academy on who part-time postgraduate learners are. What their motivations are, the type of educational solutions and delivery methods they require, and what personal and work challenges professional learners experience when considering a return to education.
Ailbhe outlined what an excellent learning experience looks like to these professional learners and what organisations and universities need to consider and embed into their programme co-design.
Download Ailbhe Roche's presentation here:
Discussion Panel: Next-Gen Workforce, Leaders Building Talent for Change
The first discussion panel on Next-Gen Workforce: Leaders Building Talent for Change panel chaired by Dr. Claire Mc Bride, head of the TU Dublin Enterprise Academy features Steve Cadigan & Helen McMahon.
This session explored how organisations can plan ahead in a world where skills - not job titles - define success. It was a compelling panel discussion reimagining workforce development through real-time skills intelligence, AI-enabled learning, and long-term collaboration. This conversation delved into how embedding continuous learning into the workplace and co-designing and accrediting programs with institutions like TU Dublin is helping to build agile, inclusive, and future-ready workforces. Panelist responded to many questions from the audience and attendees gained insights into building talent for change and shaping the future of work.
Discussion Panel: Learning that works, a lifecycle approach to collaborative talent development
The second discussion panel Learning that works: A lifecycle approach to collaborative talent development was chaired by Dr. Róisín Murphy (Chair), Senior Engagement Manager at the Enterprise Academy with Lilly Ellis Director of Workplace Experience, NetApp; James Burke, Food and Retail Sectors expert and Gráinne Barry, SVP Global Operations at Stats Perform and Founder of StatsPerform
As key stakeholders, talent experts and hiring managers the panel are discussing the talent gap/challenges that require educational solutions - and their distinct experiences in partnership with TU Dublin. The panel are sharing their insights are around embedding and supporting cultures of life-long learning, the learner journey & expectations, life-cycling, piloting and iterating programmes, and the university-enterprise co-design processes building educational solutions for individuals /organisations /sectors and at a national level, that scale.
Event Programme and Survey
For more details on the Future Talent Forum Event visit. If you attended the event and would like to share your feedback, you can do so here.
About TU Dublin Enterprise Academy
The Enterprise Academy is a multidisciplinary business unit at Technological University Dublin taking an innovative approach to collaborative talent development for workplace learners. The Enterprise Academy works with enterprises across all sectors and business types to create flexible, scalable, accredited solutions that address sector-specific, cross-sector and transversal skill needs.
The Enterprise Academy supports collaboration and co-creation in three significant ways
- Co-design, working with our partners, co-designing programmes to meet the talent and competence gaps that exist in the organisations we partner with. From the discovery process working through to piloting, validation and then life-cycle management the Enterprise Academy is interested in forming scalable, repeatable relationships with our partners.
- Collaborative Provision is where we engage in validating and accrediting programmes that are designed for industry by industry.
- Enterprise Faculty focuses on bringing enterprise partners into campus to engage with the entirety of the talent pipeline, through opportunities such as guest lecturing, advisory roles on a programme enhancement panels or Enterprise Challenges, etc.
The TU Dublin Enterprise Academy is funded by the Higher Education Authority's HCI Pillar 3, a government of Ireland programme designed to meet priority skills needs, by increasing collaboration between higher education and enterprise with a focus on innovations in teaching and learning.
