Mervyn Dinnen’s Post

People are an organisation's greatest asset. Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending the Princess Royal Training Awards ceremony as a Board Trustee of City & Guilds. The awards, launched in 2016 under the patronage of HRH The Princess Royal, celebrate organisations that demonstrate excellence in learning and development. As a passionate advocate for lifelong learning, I was truly inspired seeing this year's recipients—from global enterprises to innovative SMEs. One thing stands out clearly: investing in people drives organisational success. As Peter Drucker wisely noted, learning is "a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn." Congratulations to all 53 organisations recognised this year. Each has shown exceptional commitment to developing their people through innovative training programmes that deliver measurable impact. Their achievements remind us that in our rapidly evolving world, organisations that prioritise continuous learning and skills development aren't just investing in their workforce—they're investing in their future. A recent Harvard Business Review article (https://lnkd.in/eh6BVwBV) reinforces this, highlighting how crucial it is for organisations to focus on developing the right skills for their people's future success. Particular thanks to Dame Ann Limb DBE DL, Chair, and Kirstie Donnelly, MBE, CEO of City & Guilds, for their leadership in championing workplace learning and development across the UK. #SkillsForLife #LifelongLearning #ProfessionalDevelopment #PRTA2024 #CityAndGuilds

Marek Zemanik hosted a breakout session at the CIPD Scotland Annual Conference exploring skills in the context of digital transformation. AI and technological change were themes running through the conference, and developing the skills required to keep on top of these fast-moving changes is absolutely crucial. In fact, as the discussion showed, skills are key to productivity, growth, and also individual wellbeing. Despite well-documented challenges with employer training investment as well as public budgets, the discussion was optimistic and full of good positive ideas for attendees to take away. With huge thanks to Judith Ferguson FCIPD, Susan Stott and Verity Hislop for sharing their journeys and opinions, as well as answering a whole variety of questions from the audience. Our key takeaways included: · Developing a common language around skills is a challenge, but an absolutely crucial first step in becoming a skills-based organisation. Getting senior leadership buy-in is where HR can play a key role. · While tight budgets are a challenge, they are also an opportunity to innovate and collaborate. We heard of some amazing examples of public-private sector cooperation across Scottish local government. · As far as possible, try to personalise learning and understand people’s motivations. Especially in the case of mandatory legal training, linking it to individual roles and explaining its importance can help. · More modular, bite-sized learning opportunities – as well as using gamification approaches – can make a big difference, particularly for younger learners. · Skills development needs to be seen alongside career development opportunities and these too can be bite-sized. This can include allowing people to take part in short-term projects alongside their roles. Many thanks to our panellists for sharing their time and expertise. #CIPDScotConf24 #skills #learning #learninganddevelopment #learningculture

🎓 7 assignments and almost 30,000 words later, I've officially achieved my CIPD Level 5 in Organisational Learning and Development! 🚀 This is an achievement I am hugely proud of. Despite never having been a fan of written exams or assignments, (avoiding this at every opportunity since leaving school), I have persevered and pushed beyond my comfort zones. Huge thanks to Winn Group for supporting me through my qualifications! #CIPD #LandD #learninganddevelopment #professionaldevelopment CIPD Qualifications

Why hybrid isn’t working – and what we can do about that The title of my next CPD event with The CIPD Branch in Manchester which I'm looking forward to attending in person as this is such an important topic! How do you stay up to date as an individual? How do you hear from and contribute as thought leaders on your professional topics? How do you connect and network with others to hear different perspectives? How do you stay current and feel fresh in your role?? Make sure you have something in YOUR diary to stimulate learning. #cpd #cipd #cipdmanchester #hybridworking

A great range of programmes from CIPD Middle East When you study with the CIPD, you gain the expertise, skills, and confidence needed to excel in today's dynamic workplace. CIPD learning programmes, designed by industry experts, support your continuous professional development (CPD) and equip you with practical skills. Aligned with the standards of #CIPDProfessionMap, the global benchmark for the people profession. #growth #CIPD #learning

Yesterday, Helene Jewell CPF and Rachel Alvarez-Reyes facilitated a learning session looking at what it means to be a #Bcorp and run your business with purpose in mind. This topic was inspired by joining #purposefest in Bristol last month. As relative newbies to what BCorp actually is, it was inspiring to learn that there is an organisation trying to drive change in the business field so that more businesses can become a force for positive change. It was great to share this with our extended colleagues, including some who had already done quite a bit of thinking around Bcorp (thanks Harriet Dodd PCC for sharing you own learnings on this), as well as colleagues who are yet to become acquainted. Some of the key points that came out of our conversation, for me were: 1. To look at the broad range of areas that Bcorp certification covers can feel overwhelming, specially for small companies with limited resources, but if we chunk it down to manageable pieces, we can 'digest the elephant' 2. Similarly, as we encourage our clients to manage their overwhelm and make progress on actions, what can we take from this experience that helps us take on the task of making progress towards Bcorp? 3. The value of sharing our thinking and learning with other like minded individuals through these learning sessions helps us to generate systems of mutual support so we can help each other to take actions. We intend to revisit this topic later in the year to see what progress we have all made. Thank you Jo Elms, Edward Jospé, Vicky Holliday, Jo Kemp (ICF ACC) and Sarah-Jane Marriott (ICF PCC) for exploring this topic with us. To B or not to B, that is the question...

I'm curious... how many of my connections actively use the CIPD Profession Map for their own professional development or for that of their team members'? Looking for some interesting case studies... 👀 Please comment with all the details, I'd love to connect with you to discuss! 🗒️ #CIPD #CIPDProfessionMap #ProfessionalDevelopment #CPD

Although there’s been a bit of a wait for the certificate, it's finally arrived today! Achieving chartered membership of the CIPD back in January was a huge milestone for me; receiving this certificate has just made it all the more real and is symbolic of how much I feel I’ve grown, learned and developed over the last 5 years since I started on my HR journey and shows that it’s never too late to re-skill after almost 20 years in retail and hospitality management. Having a growth mindset has helped get me here, so this is far from the end of my learnings; there’s many more new things to try, projects that will keep pushing me out of my comfort zone and people to be inspired by… …But, talking of inspiration, huge thanks to the amazing People team at Lincolnshire Co-op who have supported me, shared their knowledge with me, helped me through the good and bad times and given me the right ‘nudges’ to get me to this point. Similarly, I’d be wrong to not acknowledge the others outside of this team who have helped me to develop both professionally and personally, whether internal colleagues or external suppliers and stakeholders. I’m not tagging everyone though - there’s too many people to mention! #CIPD #ProfessionalDevelopment #DevelopmentGoals #MilestoneReached #GrowthMindset #Success #HR

🤔 How should the next government address this persistent challenge for the UK? What can business leaders do to forge long term partnerships with Westminster and Whitehall? The availability of appropriate skills is a long-standing issue that negatively affects British business. 💡 The issue has become particularly acute in the past couple of years. Institute of Directors (IoD) research has found that, since the beginning of 2023, around 40% of IoD members have consistently stated that ‘skills shortages/employee skills gaps’ are having a negative effect on their organisation. Join the IoD Education Group this week for this insightful webinar where the above will be addressed, and attendees will hear from the following highly-esteemed speakers: 🎤 Alex Hall-Chen - Principal Policy Advisor for Sustainability, Skills, and Employment, Institute of Directors (IoD) 🎤 Faye Skelton – Head of Policy, Make UK 🎤 Paul Wilson – Policy Director, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) 🎤 Robert Nitsch – Delivery Director, IfATE (Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education) 🎤 Robert West – Head of Education and Skills, CBI (Confederation of British Industry) 🎤 Simon Ashworth – Director of Policy, THE ASSOCIATION OF EMPLOYMENT AND LEARNING PROVIDERS LIMITED 🎤 Jane Gratton - Deputy Director of Policy, British Chambers of Commerce 🎤 Event Chair: Gareth John - Co-lead, IoD Education Group Click here for further information and to secure your place: ⏩ https://lnkd.in/eeM5RDgM #Education #Policy #Government #Skills #SkillsShortage

🤔 How should the next government address this persistent challenge for the UK? What can business leaders do to forge long term partnerships with Westminster and Whitehall? The availability of appropriate skills is a long-standing issue that negatively affects British business. 💡 The issue has become particularly acute in the past couple of years. Institute of Directors (IoD) research has found that, since the beginning of 2023, around 40% of IoD members have consistently stated that ‘skills shortages/employee skills gaps’ are having a negative effect on their organisation. Action is needed to remedy skills and labour shortages across the UK to ensure that businesses are able to access the skills they need to grow and thrive. Join the IoD Education Group for this insightful webinar where the above will be addressed, and attendees will hear from the following highly-esteemed speakers: 🎤 Alex Hall-Chen - Principal Policy Advisor for Sustainability, Skills, and Employment, Institute of Directors (IoD) 🎤 Faye Skelton – Head of Policy, Make UK 🎤 Paul Wilson – Policy Director, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) 🎤 Robert Nitsch – Delivery Director, IfATE (Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education) 🎤 Robert West – Head of Education and Skills, CBI (Confederation of British Industry) 🎤 Simon Ashworth – Director of Policy, Association of Employment and Learning Providers 🎤 Event Chair: Gareth John - Co-lead, IoD Education Group Click here for further information and to secure your place: ⏩ https://lnkd.in/eeM5RDgM #Education #Policy #Government #Skills #SkillsShortage