Closing the Gap: Building Greater Manchester’s Future-Fit Workforce in Finance and Professional Services

Building a Future-Fit Workforce: Skills, Leadership and AI in Financial & Professional Services.

Building a Future-Fit Workforce: Skills, Leadership and AI in Financial & Professional Services

Financial and Professional Services (FPS) firms are facing rapid and sustained change. Advances in AI, evolving client expectations, regulatory pressures and ongoing skills shortages are reshaping roles, ways of working and leadership requirements across the sector.

This practical, insight-led breakfast briefing brings together business leaders, people professionals and sector stakeholders from Stockport and the wider Greater Manchester FPS community to explore what a future-fit workforce looks like in practice, and how organisations can respond effectively.

Featuring expert perspectives, real-world examples and peer discussion, the session emphasises practical insight, shared learning and realistic actions that can be applied across organisations of different sizes and levels of workforce maturity. The focus is on helping businesses build capability, resilience and long-term competitiveness in a changing professional services landscape.

What You’ll Explore
Through a keynote, panel discussion and facilitated table conversations, attendees will examine:

• How AI is changing roles, skills and decision-making in professional services
• What “future-fit” leadership looks like in an AI-enabled workplace
• The human capabilities that technology cannot replace
• Practical actions firms can take now to close skills gaps
• How SMEs and larger employers are experiencing and responding to change differently

The session is designed to be interactive, practical and highly relevant to real-world challenges.

What You’ll Take Away

• A clearer understanding of how AI and automation are affecting FPS roles and skills
• Practical insight into the human and leadership capabilities that matter most
• Real examples of how other firms are responding to workforce challenges
• New perspectives on developing talent, managers and teams in uncertain conditions
• Useful prompts to take back into leadership, people and strategy conversations
• Connections with peers, advisers and support organisations in the same sector

Who Should Attend?
This event is designed to be accessible and relevant to organisations of different sizes and levels of workforce maturity, including:

• Financial and Professional Services employers (SMEs and larger firms)
• Business owners, partners and senior managers
• HR, people, talent and workforce development leads
• Recruitment agencies with an FPS focus
• FE and HE providers
• Skills, employment and economic development stakeholders

Delivered in Partnership
This event is delivered in partnership with:

• Stockport Council – championing inclusive economic growth and business resilience
• HURST Accountants – hosts of the event and advisers to owner-managed businesses and SMEs
• Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce – representing and connecting the region’s business community

The session will be facilitated by experienced sector and workforce development professionals, with contributions from senior leaders and subject-matter experts from across the Financial and Professional Services ecosystem.

As this event is fully-funded, businesses are subject to funders' eligibility criteria. If your place is confirmed, you will receive an email from us with further details.

• Businesses with a Greater Manchester trading address.
• Sole trader, micro business, small and medium-sized enterprise, or large business.
• Social enterprises where these engage in economic activity.

Your place on the workshop is not automatically confirmed and you will receive an email from BGHworkshops@growthco.uk once it is.

For more information on how your data is stored please visit our privacy policy.