About this Event
Our Emerging Talent Summit returns this June, bringing together senior Talent Acquisition, HR and workforce leaders for a high‑impact morning of insight, challenge and practical discussion.
As organisations enter 2026, early‑career and emerging‑talent functions face a new set of pressures: AI reshaping candidate behaviour, shifting policy landscapes, and increased scrutiny on budgets, diversity initiatives and programme impact. Rather than a shortage of early‑career applicants, employers are grappling with high application volumes, AI‑generated content, and the need to differentiate genuine potential from noise.
This highly interactive event creates a trusted space to explore what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to change. Through expert‑led discussion, real case studies and peer‑to‑peer insight sharing, we’ll examine how organisations can optimise their emerging‑talent strategies to meet higher expectations for transparency, skills development and long‑term career pathways.
Key Themes
• Building Skills‑Forward Early Talent Programmes – With entry‑level roles evolving and mid‑level pipelines becoming more critical, organisations are redesigning early‑career programmes to develop capabilities faster and create clearer progression routes. This includes more intentional skills mapping, accelerated development paths and better alignment between early‑talent roles and future workforce needs.
• AI & the New Candidate Journey – Two‑thirds of students now use AI during the application process, fundamentally reshaping employer expectations for assessment, authenticity and experience. We’ll explore how attraction, screening and assessment are being redesigned for an AI‑enabled generation — and how organisations can ensure fairness, reliability and trust.
• Diversity Beyond Compliance – We’ll look at what’s driving real outcomes in early‑career cohorts — versus what no longer meets regulatory, cultural or leadership expectations.
• Skills Over Pedigree – Employers are increasingly prioritising skills signals, adjacent potential and demonstrable learning agility. This shift is accelerated by AI‑driven role evolutions and shorter skill half‑lives. We’ll examine how forward‑thinking organisations are adapting their hiring frameworks.
• Evolving the Candidate Experience & EVP – We’ll explore how organisations are adapting their employee value proposition and early‑career experience to support engagement, wellbeing and longer‑term retention in 2026 and beyond.
In an environment where ROI and impact are under greater scrutiny than ever, this Summit will help you make confident, evidence‑based decisions about what to prioritise — and how to demonstrate the value of your emerging‑talent strategy.
This event is invitation only for Talent, HR and workforce leaders.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Cumberland Hotel, London, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
