A workforce for the future debate at the National Liberal Club

A special invitation was extended to Safaraz Ali as a leader and influencer in the diversity equity and inclusion arena by the Diversity Working Group and the Commonwealth Forum of the National Liberal Club in London.

Safaraz Ali stated:

“it can be too easy to live in an echo chamber of our own creation, talking to people who violently agree with us. That is why it is so important to take the big messages about the workforce of now and the future and generally about skills and employability to audiences that may not be discussing these on a regular basis. I was very pleased that I agreed to this and found myself away from my usual ‘beat’ and in the Downton Abbey style setting of the National Liberal Club in central London, just a few hundred yards from the Houses of Parliament”

The National Liberal Club is one of the great historic London Clubs, founded in 1882 by William Gladstone, the standout Prime Minister of the 19^th century.

It has an illustrious list of current and former members, including Lloyd George, Prime Minister at the end of the First World War and Winston Churchill, Prime Minister for much of the Second World War and again in the 1950’s.

Dr Elizabeth Negus who is international speaker on education issues and a judge for the English-Speaking Union’s Churchill Public Speaking – the largest public speaking competition in her role as a Committee member and Chair of the Diversity Group stated;

“we have been working with Safaraz and his team to invite him to over to share with us his journey, his thoughts and views on all things relating to diversity in its current settings as well as the employability and skills situation of the country. It was our delight to host him, and we thank him sincerely for his contribution”.

Some of the memorable points that were debated in were along the lines of:

• We all see life through the prism of our own experience.
• There are opportunities in most situations.
• Education is a big lever in levelling up but not the only factor. Life is a relay race not a sprint.
• Nothing is guaranteed and change is part of life.

The group that attended included leading correspondents and member of various policy think tanks, a representative from Bloomberg and Lambeth Council, one of the biggest local authorities in the country as well international and national journalists as well as being shared across many broadcast platforms.

Pathway Group are known for open networking and opportunities where we can collaborate and for its phrase: Everything starts with a conversation.  so, let’s talk