Countdown’s Susie Dent and Bruce Daisley join line-up for the CIPD’s Annual Conference and Exhibition 2024

The CIPD has revealed an exciting programme of speakers for its Annual Conference and Exhibition 2024, which takes place at Manchester Central on 6-7 November.

This year’s event brings the people profession together to focus on four overarching themes: championing professionalism, productivity and skills, AI, and managing workplace conflict. It will provide HR, OD and L&D practitioners with the insights needed to enact positive change in their organisations, whilst offering opportunities for thought-provoking discussions and networking with their peers.

Keynote speakers across the two-day conference include Professor Michael Wooldridge, author and professor of AI at the University of Oxford and director for AI at the Alan Turing Institute; Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, award-winning space scientist and presenter of the BBC’s ‘Sky at Night’; Bruce Daisley, author and future of work thought leader; Manchester Corinthians Ladies’ Football Club; and Susie Dent, writer, broadcaster and custodian of Countdown’s ‘Dictionary Corner’.

The packed conference agenda, which will also be available to watch online, runs across four streams with sessions spotlighting the latest guidance, research and innovations in:

• Workplace AI: The practical ways the people profession can use AI to the benefit of the workforce, balancing tech efficiency with the human touch, and the impact of AI on early talent and recruitment.
• Skills and productivity: How to unlock essential skills to solve the productivity puzzle, how to sustain momentum in career development, and how AI and digital tools will transform learning.
• Boost employee experience: How to make flexible working work, the benefits of an age-diverse workforce, and ways to enhance inclusion and employee wellbeing.
• Leading responsibly: Navigating times of change, understanding legislative and political direction, driving sustainability, and the power of inclusive leadership.

Accompanying the conference programme is a free exhibition which will showcase the latest products and services across HR, technology, L&D, and reward and benefits. An extensive programme of free sessions will also take place in the exhibition hall, including expert presentations, employment law drop-in sessions, health checks, speed networking and an AI hub.

Peter Cheese, chief executive of the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, said: 

“We’re looking forward to welcoming the people profession to our 77^th annual conference and exhibition. At a time when employers are experiencing challenges around recruitment, retention, productivity and new technologies, as well as proposed changes to employment law on the horizon, this event is a great opportunity for practitioners in HR, L&D and OD to come together to explore how they can face these head-on and make a positive impact in their workplaces.”

The full conference programme can be viewed here and delegates can purchase a conference pass here