Plan Your Day – UVAC Conference Programme and Timings Released
Plan Your Day – UVAC Conference Programme and Timings Released
The full programme for this year’s UVAC National Conference is now live, with all session timings confirmed—ready for you to plan your day and make the most of every opportunity.
Join us on Thursday, 20 November, at the ICC Birmingham when doors open at 8:00 am, giving you a full hour to network and connect with fellow delegates and exhibitors before the busy day begins. This year, we’ve also built in time between sessions to make moving around the venue easier.
With the theme “CHANGE: Creating and Adapting to Apprenticeship and Skills Policy—Past, Present, and Future,” our full programme explores the key challenges and opportunities shaping the sector today. In addition to the keynote presentations and full conference workshops, you’ll have a choice of 9 breakout workshops across three sessions.
All delegates, speakers, and exhibitors are warmly invited to join us at the end of the day, between 5-6pm, for our drinks reception. It’s the perfect chance to relax, connect with colleagues, and reflect on the day’s discussions before you head home.
08.00 – 09.00 Breakfast, Exhibition and Networking
09.00 – 09.15 Welcome from Mandy Crawford-Lee, Chief Executive, UVAC
09:15 – 09:55 Keynote Workshop from Headline Sponsor Aptem
Region to be cheerful? Exploring the role for vocational HE and apprenticeships within English devolution
James Farr, Director and Richard Guy, Senior Associate, THINK
11:00 – 11:50 Workshop Session A
World Skills UK endorsed competitions for Higher & Degree Apprentices
Sarah Tudor, World Skills UK Competition Director and Head of Assessment and Progression
University of Exeter
Assuring Standards in Times of Change: Co-Creating a Blueprint for Quality,Consistency, and Change
Dr Nicky Westwood, UVAC Associate, Julie Stone, Consultant, Phil Sanders, Consultant
End Point Assessment – Out of the Melting Pot
Sam Moorwood, Associate Director of Skills
Sheffield Hallam University
11:55 – 12:45Workshop Session B
Navigating Change: Empowering Insights around workplace mentorship through a World Café
Abigail Salter, Lecturer in Policing Organisation and Practice, Dr Sarah Bloomfield, Senior Lecturer in Work and Organisational Learning, Evelyn Mooney , Programme Leader, WELS, School of Health, Wellbeing and Social Care , Open University
Navigating complexity with employers: Strategic workforce strategies in an era of change
Mark Hayes, Director, Mike Craig, Head of Sales and Accounts, Think
Addressing policy misconceptions about mature learners and university approaches
Dr Trevor A Brown Reader in Strategic Practice and Apprenticeships, Richard Griffin , Senior Lecturer & Assessment Lead, Manchester Metropolitan University
12:45 – 1:30 LUNCH, EXHIBITION & NETWORKING
1:30 – 2:20Workshop Session C
The Evolving Apprenticeship Workforce: Navigating Change in Tripartite Roles
Dr Nicky Westwood, UVAC Associate, Dr Helen Charlton, Head of Executive Education, Northumbria University Business School, Dr Phil Power-Mason, Head of Strategic Management, Hertfordshire Business School
Not just another spreadsheet; Streamlining management
Dr Cliona O Dunlaing Dean, School of Apprenticeships, Lauren Spurling, Head of Apprenticeship Academic, Anglia Ruskin University
The constant in a shifting landscape: the value of work-related co-created practice development in DAs
Jackie Whitehouse, Head of Work-based Learning, Laura Yetton, Programme Manager, University of Warwick
2:25 – 3:05 Full Conference Workshop
From Policy to Practice: Reimagining Apprenticeships Through the Lens of Diversity and Inclusion
Pete Milsom, Shona Taylor, Business Engagement Manager: Early Careers and Apprenticeships, UCAS
3:05 – 3:45 Keynote Workshop from Headline Sponsor ACE360
Apprenticeships policy – making it work for employers
Panel discussion led by Dr Fiona Aldridge, CEO, Skills Federation
3:45 – 3:55 Refreshments Break & Exhibition
3:55 – 4:35 Full Conference Workshop
From Start-up to Scale-up
Gosia Lasota, Assistant Director, Dr Cliona O Dunlaing, Dean, School of Apprenticeships, Anglia Ruskin University
4:35 – 4:55 Keynote Workshop from Registration Sponsor BUD
4:55 – 5:00 Closing Remarks from Dr Mandy Crawford-Lee, Chief Executive, UVAC
5.00 – 6.00 Drinks Reception for all delegates, speakers and exhibitors
