Sixth international HRD event to be held in Leeds

An international conference on Human Resource Development, which has previously been held in France, Holland and Ireland, will be coming to Leeds next year ñ igen, the regionís leading career and personal development services company, will be one of the lead sponsors.

The Sixth International Conference on HRD Research and Practice Across Europe, which takes place between May 25-27, 2005, is being hosted by Leeds Metropolitan Universityís Human Resource Development Unit.

The influential conference is one of the premier events of its kind in Europe and earlier this summer attracted almost 250 delegates from around the world ñ the event in Leeds next year will include European and US speakers and hopes to attract more than 300 people into the city.

Steve Higginbotham, chief executive of igen, said: ìItís great for Leeds that a high-profile conference such as this is being held here ñ it enhances the image of the city and the work organisations such as ourselves are doing.

ìThe conference fits extremely well with igenís work, especially in respect of promoting the merits of lifelong learning and career management. Itís a great boost for careers and education in Leeds.î

Dr Rick Holden, from Leeds Metropolitan University and Conference Chair, said: ìIím delighted igen will be one of the conferenceís main sponsors. It is testimony to the value of the sort of partnership work we seek to develop through the universityís HRD Unit. It ensures we really can bring together HRD research and practice at such an event.î

The goal of the sixth conference, as with its predecessors, is to develop and strengthen the discipline of HRD and the community of practice amongst HRD researchers, academics and practitioners. The 2005 conference theme is: ëHuman Resource Development: Addressing The Valueí.

The 2004 conference was at the University of Limerick in Ireland, while previous events have been held at the Toulouse Business School, France and Twente University, Holland.

This is the second major conference sponsorship announced by igen in recent weeks. The company was the sole sponsor of the highly-respected national Seventh Annual Career Development Lecture in December, organised by the Centre for Guidance Studies at the University of Derby.

Igen, part-funded by Connexions West Yorkshire, is fast-expanding in the region and beyond ñ it has opened facilities in Teesside and the Humber region and through its subsidiary Mentra UK recently acquired Bath-based national careers recruitment agency Triangle Staffing.