Thirst CEO Fred Thompson sets the tone for L&D Unleashed 2025 with a rallying cry for small but mighty teams ready to rethink how skills are built and measured. Packed with hard-hitting truths, industry insights, and a bold vision for AI-assisted learning, it’s the wake-up call L&D leaders didn’t know they needed.

What does building a skills-led culture really look like in a small or mid-sized business? In this candid conversation, L&D leaders Sam Taylor, Tom McDowall, and Heidi Kirby share how they’re making the shift to skills-based learning – what’s driving real impact, where the challenges lie, and what they’ve learned along the way.

Join Fred Thompson and Tom McDowall for a practical session on how to use AI as your co-pilot in building a skills-led organisation. This session will walk you through how to create and iterate a skills framework using AI tools like ChatGPT – mapping skills to job roles, aligning them to business goals, and refining your approach through rapid feedback loops.

With over 16 years of experience in organisational and people development, Teresa Rose has supported global organisations through large-scale transformation and skills-based change.

In her session, she’ll share what it really takes to become a skills-based organisation from prototype to sustainment, and everything in between.