NOCN Live 2025: Reflections from our annual Staff Conference
Posted 12 December 2025
Last week, over 180 NOCN Group colleagues gathered in Sheffield for two days of connection, celebration and focus on the future for our annual Staff Conference: NOCN Live.
We explored NOCN Group’s strategic vision through thought-provoking presentations, panels and workshops.
As an organisation committed to building meaningful connections and generating ideas, it was great to see colleagues come together and collaborate across departments. Taking time out of our busy schedules to explore how we can better serve our customers, drive skills innovation and continue supporting learning both in the UK and worldwide.
The Road to 2030
Day one of the conference centred around ‘The Road to 2030’ – NOCN Group’s strategy for success in our ever-changing global landscape. This session included a fireside chat with members of our Executive Committee, as well as an exciting presentation on our ongoing collaboration with TCS iON to support skills delivery in India. Colleagues took part in an insightful workshop, where they worked together to generate innovative proposals on how their teams can deliver our Vision 2030 Strategy.

We also heard from Simon Renny, Group Director, Strategy and Research, and our Chief Executive, Graham Hasting-Evans about the educational challenges facing the UK. Colleagues discussed how NOCN Group can see these as opportunities.
The day rounded off with a focus session on our customers, led by Rachel Hobson ,Group Director of Customer Service and Operations. Understanding our customers is essential to providing the best value and making meaningful, positive change in the skills sector.

NOCN Awards
The end of day one also marked new beginnings, as we held our first NOCN Awards to celebrate staff achievements. As voted by colleagues, the nominees embody the very best of NOCN Group, with categories spanning commitment, global impact and innovation. Congratulations to all our winners!
- Spirit of NOCN Award – Jonathan Alton
- Innovation Excellence – Bernadette Humphries
- Global Impact Award - Kelly Ann-Wickens
- Commitment Award - Emily McCullough
- Making a Difference Award- Jonathan Green

Day 2
After an exciting evening of celebration and recognition, we reconvened for day two to discuss the importance of regulation, assessment and quality assurance. Colleagues generated important ideas to overcome the operational barriers that NOCN Group faces, such as changes to education and the advancement of AI.
We look forward to seeing everyone again at next year’s conference!
