Leading recruitment company Acorn by Synergie and commercial law firm Darwin Gray LLP have relaunched the leading Wales HR Network, with two big events and a brand-new look planned for 2025.

The network provides learning and networking opportunities for senior leaders and HR professionals in Wales, as well as enabling the sharing of ideas to help shape the future of HR practices across the country.

As part of its relaunch, the network has announced an exciting second ‘Future of Work’ conference, following the significant success of its first conference in 2023. The conference will welcome around 150 people to the ICC Wales in Newport on 14 May 2025, and attendance should be an absolute must for all senior leaders and executives and HR professionals across Wales and beyond.

The May conference has an impressive line-up of expert speakers, including Dr David Frayne, current Research Fellow at the University of Salford and member of Digital Futures at Work Research Centre. During his time as Research Fellow at Cambridge University, Dr Frayne was the lead researcher on two national pilots of the four-day working week, and he will share major insights and practical lessons learnt from these exciting pilots at the conference.

Lisa Hand, HR Director at Welsh broadband provider Ogi will talk about Ogi’s journey to becoming  Wales’  biggest alternative telecoms company, and the steps taken to futureproof Ogi’s workforce to enable this transformation.

The lineup will also include representatives from theInstitute for the Future of Work, a leading UK research and development bodywho, with funding from the Nuffield Foundation, recently completed thethree-year Pissarides Review into the Future of Work and Wellbeing, led byNobel Prize-winning economist, Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides. Working incollaboration with Imperial College London and Warwick Business School, thisgroundbreaking inquiry explored the impacts of automation at national, firm andindividual levels, and - through a new social and economic paradigm of goodwork - has proposed a new model of human-centred automation where innovationand social good can advance together. Insights from this seminal report - aswell as the Institute’s wider work - will be shared with delegates at theConference.

The network will also hold a third Future of Work conference in north Wales in the Autumn.

Managing Director at Acorn by Synergie Bernard Ward said: “We’re delighted to be re-launching the Wales HR Network with two significant conferences in Wales, where we will have great speakers covering lots of currentimportant topics about what’s going on in the world of HR.

“Previously, the annual awards that the network hosted were successful in highlighting the great work people are doing on theground here in Wales, but these conferences will allow those same HRprofessionals and leaders of organisations to learn from experts on the Futureof Work, whilst also networking with one and other”.

Fflur Jones, Managing Partner at Darwin Gray said: “The relaunch of the Wales HR Network has come at a key time, with changes happening in the world of employment law and HR almost on a daily basis.  To coincide with the relaunch of the Wales HR network we therefore felt it was more important than ever to explore what will the future of our working practices and spaces look like.

“With a fantastic lineup of expert speakers, our May conference should not be missed by anyone involved in leadership roles or HR. We are excited about this new chapter in the life of Wales HR Network, and its key role in shaping excellent future HR practices here in Wales.”

For more information, visit www.waleshrnetwork.cymru

Tickets for the Future of Work conference are on sale now. For a 10% discount, use the code FOWC-EARLYBIRD. Valid until 20^th March2025. Tickets sold through Eventbrite  

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