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A meeting of minds at the Training and Development Summit

There are so many events within the Learning and Development industry

The Whittlebury Hall Hotel and Spa in Northampton hosted this year’s Training & Development Summit. Over 65 delegates were in attendance to meet with suppliers, attend seminars and network with their peers. Delegate Sales Leader Mark Connell explores the experience.

There are so many events within the Learning and Development industry that it can be very difficult to decide which one to go to. The huge exhibitions are always popular but having to walk through an endless sea of people for hours on end, not knowing who to speak to can feel like a waste of time. That is why each year, more and more people are joining us at the Training and Development Summit. Instead of traipsing around an enormous hall all day, delegates get to pre-arrange a series of face-to-face meetings with suppliers that they want to speak to. This unique concept is making trade shows a thing of the past.

A supplier from De Montfort University, deep in conversation with delegates at the Training & Development Summit.This year’s event took place on the 15th and 16th June at the Whittlebury Hall Hotel and Spa and was once again a monumental success. As an attendee from British Gas puts it: “It was another very successful event. The meetings I had with the suppliers were exactly what I was looking for and I will definitely be using them for my current and future projects.” A representative from Keepmoat agrees that the event was “really worthwhile as I got loads of value out of the two days and had some really fantastic meetings.” A delegate from AVEVA Solutions went as far as to say: “This event was much more worthwhile than many of the huge city events.”

Alongside the meetings, delegates were presented with a hugely popular seminar programme, which discussed key topics such as leadership development and talent management. Gill Bryant started the day off with the ever-popular ‘Catch the Bug’ presentation. Other notable speakers included Zara Whysall with her ‘Talent Development Today’ presentation and James Farrell on ‘Driving Results through Development.’ The seminar programme was “full of excellent topics, the speakers got us all involved with the discussions and I left feeling inspired,” commented the delegate from ACDC LED Lighting.

In between the meetings and seminars, all attendees had a plethora of networking opportunities. An attendee from Anchor said: “The event was lively, interactive and it was great to get the chance to network face-to-face.” The suppliers agree: “I met some truly excellent people, everyone I spoke to was really relevant,” a representative from Learndirect said.

The informal networking extended to a 3-course gala dinner on the first evening, followed by a James Bond-themed casino night. Attendees were supplied with limited playing money, with a bottle of champagne awaiting the victor. In a nail-biting final roll of the roulette wheel, the representative from Packtypes emerged as the overall winner and said afterwards: “It was a fantastic evening, full of relaxed networking and a great dinner. To win the champagne on the last roll of the night was a great feeling.

The main sponsor Redsky Learning, sharing ideas with delegates at the Training & Development Summit

Overall, the 7th annual Training and Development Summit was an outstanding success from start to finish. An attendee from Konica Minolta said “as a first-time attendee to this kind of event, I have left knowing my two days have been well spent and I have gained insight, knowledge and ideas that I didn’t have before.” Next year’s dates have yet to be confirmed but there is already a high level of interest, and as the delegate from the GAP Group concluded: “Fantastic networking opportunities. Well organised and coordinated. I can’t wait till next year’s event.”      

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