HPC was proud to sponsor the Learning & Development Institute (L&DI) National Learning & Development Conference at Croke Park, Dublin, on 19 November 2025 – continuing an eight‑year partnership with Ireland’s flagship gathering for learning professionals.
This year’s conference explored a timely and pressing theme: “Future‑Proofing Growth: Skills and Human Potential.” Against a backdrop of accelerating technological change, AI adoption and evolving workforce expectations, learning leaders from across Ireland came together to examine how organisations can build the capabilities required to remain resilient, adaptable and competitive.
Ahead of the conference, The Sunday Times explored the themes shaping the agenda. Speaking as part of that coverage, HPC CEO Kevin Hannigan highlighted the growing challenge facing organisations: “As the pace of change accelerates, learning professionals face a stark reality — yesterday’s solutions won’t solve tomorrow’s problems.” That message resonated strongly throughout the day.
The conference programme brought together thought‑provoking keynote contributions from bestselling authors Daniel Susskind and Tom Kelley, alongside expert panels examining the intersection of skills, education and the labour market. A consistent thread running through the discussions was the need for learning to move beyond activity and attendance, towards clearer alignment with organisational priorities and measurable business impact.
In her opening address, L&DI CEO Sinéad Heneghan described the conference as “a day of dialogue with a focus on making learning meaningful, people‑centred and future‑focused.” That emphasis strongly reflects HPC’s own approach to partnering with learning teams — supporting them to design development strategies that are commercially relevant, evidence‑based and embedded within the wider business context.
As part of the day’s conversations, Kevin Hannigan also engaged in discussion with Angela O’Donovan (Manager HR Strategy & Organisational Design at University College Cork) on the findings from her latest survey of learning professionals across Ireland. Their conversation surfaced several challenges shaping the learning agenda for the year ahead. Agility, resilience and digital fluency are emerging as critical organisational capabilities, creating significant opportunity for learning teams to play a more strategic role in building future‑ready workforces.
The discussion also highlighted a persistent gap in how learning impact is evaluated. While many organisations recognise the importance of demonstrating ROI and business value, relatively few have simple, practical models in place to measure it. This points to an opportunity to rethink how learning value is defined, evidenced and communicated — particularly in the context of upskilling people to navigate uncertainty with confidence.
Three areas of support for learning professionals featured strongly in the conversation: capacity, in terms of resources, tools and systems; capability, including impact measurement, data literacy, AI understanding and leadership development; and strategic alignment, through stronger leadership sponsorship and clearer connection between learning investment and organisational strategy.
Beyond the formal programme, the conference created valuable space for connection — enabling learning leaders to share experiences, challenges and ideas across sectors. For the HPC team, it was an opportunity to reconnect with longstanding clients, meet new organisations, and engage in practical conversations about the evolving role of learning in driving sustainable performance and growth.
As long‑standing supporters of the L&DI and its mission, HPC is proud to contribute to a conference that continues to shape the national conversation on learning, capability and human potential — and to support learning professionals as they respond to the demands of an increasingly complex future.