What started as a dinner in London for a handful of guests in October 2016, TalentLab has blossomed into an entity of its own. The latest event held a few weeks ago at the BBC in Manchester had just over 50 guests in attendance and it is quickly becoming a “must attend” for those in the know about apprenticeships.
TalentLab takes a new approach to client events by focusing on peer to peer learning and is fuelled by the TalentLab motto: “Inform – Exchange – Deliver”. TalentLab is hosted on a client site, with an agenda set by our clients, and often involves a keynote speaker at each event from thought leaders in the apprenticeship industry.
At TalentLab there is as much of a focus on the mechanics of apprenticeships as there is the cultural shift an organisation must attend to if their apprenticeship provision is to be successful. QA ensure that TalentLab caters for everyone involved in the apprenticeship process - at any level. TalentLab encourages the exploration of integral discussion points such as how to set up an apprenticeship scheme the right way, through to the nitty-gritty including: the apprenticeship levy, programme updates and how to access funding for apprenticeships.
In the attendees of QA’s TalentLab events, we have found a community of like-minded people, all eager to learn from each other. If you are looking for an event where you will leave weighed down with a bag of fluffy pens, stress balls and brochures you probably will never read TalentLab is not for you. Instead, by the end of each TalentLab, we aim for attendees to transform their list of queries into a to-do list of actionable tasks, this has a tangible impact on organisations across the UK
To further ensure TalentLab is delivers value, feedback forms are collected from attendees to shape future events. Here are a few comments from our most recent event at the BBC:
‘Loved it! Very informative, gained new connections, will be back!’ – Mike, Manchester Airport Group
‘The whole event was informative. It addressed all of my questions!’ – Kim, University of Manchester
‘Really enjoyed the event. Most useful apprentice event so far.’ – Katy, Insight
As we begin planning of the 6th TalentLab in October, the team will be carefully listening to our clients, which will help guide the event and ensure that TalentLab continues to be the trusted community for employers with knowledge sharing at its core.
If you think you would benefit from attending a TalentLab event or speaking to an apprenticeship expert, contact the apprenticeships team today.