A high-profile business debate
for CEOs, board members and HR directors ready to take action to unlock the potential of their workforce.

Conference overview

On the 21 February 2012, Adecco held a groundbreaking conference to launch the findings of Unlock Britain’s Potential: an initiative designed to realise the potential of the great British workforce.

Inspired by the diversity, inclusion, and engagement inherent in London’s hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, panel sessions — led by key figures from such companies as Aviva, Business in the Community, London Apprenticeship Company, and The Prince’s Trust — addressed the issues of education, engagement, technology, and the lost workforce.

Keynote speakers Phil Smith, CEO of Cisco, Nita Clarke, Director of IPA, Camila Batmanghelidjh, Founder of Kids Company, and Naima Swaleh, a young ambassador for the Prince's Trust, urged business leaders to act now, before the UK loses its ability to compete in future markets, and its workforce falls prey to skills shortages and disenfranchisement.

1. Can employers successfully engage with the 'lost workforce'?

Founder of Kid’s Company Camila Batmanghelidjh highlighted the plight of the lost workforce: the people on the fringes of society, largely excluded from education, technology, and employment. She spoke of the need to make training and employment more attractive to young people, and reinforced the message that we currently do little to engage the disenfranchised portion of the younger generation; which is precisely what we need to change if we are to make a difference. 

Key points:

• "Healthy back streets lead to healthy high streets" Paul Buchanan, Business in the community
• "Employers have a duty of responsibility to help get people into work" Tanith Dodge, M&S
• "There are currently 86,000 prisoners in this country: the likelihood of them reoffending is far higher if they don't find employment" Paul Buchanan
• "If we fail to engage a diverse, disenfranchised workforce, we will lag far behind the increasingly progressive powers of India and the like" Martian Milburn, The Prince’s Trust

2. Is education failing employers?

The UK’s education system is failing to equip students with the sort of skills valued by today’s employers. As a result, young people are at risk of being excluded from the world of work, and employers are facing a serious skills shortage — preventing them from competing in global markets, and stunting economic growth. But many employers need to adapt their own attitudes too.

Key points:

• Over half (52%) of workers think the education system has failed to equip young people with the right skills for work — UBP research  
• "There needs to be a partnership between educators and employers" Nick Chambers, The Education and Employers Taskforce
• "It's about giving people inspiration and aspiration" Nick Chambers
• "Many young people are unsure about what they want to do when they're older, but they need to be given much better career advice when they're at school, so they have a rounded knowledge of what's out there" Steven Kirkpatrick, Adecco

3. How can we improve the take up rate of STEM subjects?

The current attitude towards STEM subjects is creating a worrying skills shortage in the UK; meaning that the British workforce is likely to lag behind international talent, unless we act fast. We need to attract fresh talent from a young age — increasing interest in STEM subjects by relating them to every day things.

Key points:

• "30% of young people now see the Internet as being as important as air, food and water" Phil Smith, Cisco research
• "We need to inspire people to want to work in industry, and we need to give them the capability to do it" Phil Smith
• "Schools need to focus on teaching the sort of STEM skills that employers need, not just the ones needed to pass exams" Charlie Stripp
• "The engineering industry is not currently attractive to girls or women" Phil Smith

4. Is employee engagement achievable in the modern, diverse workplace?

If an engaged workforce leads to higher productivity, why does employee engagement still struggle to get the attention and understanding it deserves?

Zain Wadee, MD of hyphen, addressed the lack of engagement measures for the UK's non-directly employed workforce; drawing on the example of LOCOG's equal treatment of its  workforce, and stressing the dangerously negative impact on business performance of neglecting this important — and often expensive — talent stream. 

• "If employees ‘can't be bothered’ — in other words, if they're not engaged — their performance will suffer; and that of the company's as a result" Nita Clarke, IPA
•  “If employees are engaged, they feel inspired to want to do better" Deborah Baker, BSkyB
• "The way a line manager treats their team is vital for making workers feel like they are being treated fairly" Binna Kandola, Pearn Kandola
• "A strong employer brand can serve to better engage a workforce" Rupert McNeil, Aviva

The issues

Andy Powell, Director of Adecco Group UK and Ireland, concluded the conference by presenting steps for action: identifying the four key focal points that will be presented to government.

• Employability: careers advice is considered to be out of touch, and the usefulness of work experience is largely dictated by family connections. We therefore need to improve links between schools and employers
• The lost workforce: we're in danger of forever excluding from society those people that currently sit on its fringes. We need to act now if we are to engage a truly diverse workforce, and to ensure our own global competitiveness
• Engagement: fewer than half of employers have an effective engagement strategy in place. This figure drops below even that for non directly employed workers, and is an area that all employers should be investing significant amounts of time and money in
• Small societies: there are many disjointed, small initiatives around the country, but it's time to put the 'big society' into practice, and make one concerted effort.

We’re therefore appealing for the following action from government:

• Collaboration
• Employers in the classroom
• Work experience
• Support for teachers
• Tackling lost workers early on
• Engagement

The time to act is now

The power to change the fate of this country, its economy, and the wider workforce is in your hands. Get involved to sign our petition to government.