The UK workforce is in the midst of profound transformation. Economic volatility, evolving employee expectations, and widening digital skills gaps are reshaping hiring, retention, and workforce strategy. At the same time, AI is accelerating change, driving significant productivity gains while redefining job roles, merging responsibilities, and reshaping entry-level pathways.
Recent labour market data reinforces this shift. Increased automation and AI adoption are already replacing low-complexity, transactional tasks across UK businesses, contributing to workforce restructuring and concerns among workers about long-term job security. At the same time, it’s boosting efficiency: Reed research in 2025 revealed that 56% of employers believe AI holds the key to unlocking productivity.
Reed’s 2026 salary guides echo this reality. Entry-level roles are becoming harder to secure across sectors, and AI is beginning to reshape job architecture - enhancing productivity, but in many cases consolidating roles and automating day-to-day duties. These shifts are placing new pressures on both employers and professionals.
This webinar will equip leaders with the clarity, frameworks, and real-world examples needed to plan their workforce for the AI-enabled economy ahead.
What we will cover:
1. How AI is changing recruitment and workforce architecture
We’ll explore how automation is replacing low-complexity, transactional tasks across UK organisations, and how AI-powered tools are reshaping sourcing, screening, and assessment. The session will also examine why entry-level roles are becoming harder to access and how organisations can adapt hiring models accordingly.
2. Retaining talent when career pathways are shrinking
As AI-driven efficiencies lead to role consolidation and the restructuring of job families, we’ll look at how businesses can create lateral development routes, build skills-focused cultures, and maintain employee engagement.
3. AI--driven efficiencies and their impact on organisational design
We’ll unpack how automation is merging responsibilities, reshaping job scopes, and driving the need for new capability frameworks and skill taxonomies.
4. Which skills are becoming critical
This section examines the decline of routine, process-driven roles in an AI-enabled economy, alongside the rise of hybrid skills that combine technical proficiency with communication, empathy, creativity, and critical thinking.
5. Risk, regulation & compliance
Finally, we’ll discuss the growing compliance landscape surrounding AI adoption, including risks around bias, fairness, and transparency in hiring; GDPR considerations for automated decision-making; and the importance of responsible, well-governed AI use aligned with emerging UK regulatory guidance.
If you play a role in shaping people, talent, or workforce strategy, this session is for you. Our panellists will talk for 45 minutes on the topic leaving you with plenty of time to get your questions answered in our interactive Q&A session at the end of the event.
Our speakers
Lord Clement Jones, Co-Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence
Lord Clement-Jones CBE, FRSA is a Liberal Democrat peer and spokesman for the digital economy in the House of Lords. He was made CBE for political services in 1988. He was the chairman of the Liberal Democrats Finance Committee from 1989 to 1998 and federal treasurer of the Liberal Democrats from 2005 to 2010.
Clement-Jones was made a life peer in 1998 and until July 2004 was the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, and thereafter until 2010 Liberal Democrat spokesman on culture, media and sport.
Since 2012, he has been the chair of Lib Dems in Communications. He is the Liberal Democrat spokesman for the digital economy and a former spokesman on the creative industries (2015–2017). He was a member of the Select Committees on Communications (2011–2015) and the Built Environment (2015–2016). From 2017 to 2018 he was chair of the House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence. He is co-chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence.
Carlos Diaz, VP of People and Talent, Jasper
Carlos is VP of People and Talent at Jasper, a marketing agents platform built for enterprise teams that helps marketers orchestrate AI to execute work at scale. He brings 15+ years of experience leading people teams, including roles as head of people operations for Bridgewater’s technology teams and head of people at GlossGenius.
He has been an early adopter of AI in the workplace, spanning custom-built tools to today’s modern platforms, and focuses on building high-performing, efficient teams that combine exceptional talent with the right systems and technology to deliver against core business objectives.
Michele Smith, Managing Director (technology and future skills), Reed
Michele Smith is the Managing Director responsible for Reed’s technology recruitment division, the organisation’s future skills solutions offering, and its sister Microsoft accredited tech-training company, Code Nation. Her role brings together talent acquisition, skills development, and technology-focused workforce transformation - allowing her to champion end-to-end solutions that help individuals and businesses thrive in an increasingly digital world.
With more than 27 years of experience spanning business development, recruitment operations, and strategic account management, Michele has built a reputation for delivering excellence across large scale, complex workforce programmes. She was appointed to main board and director-level positions in 2008, reflecting her longstanding impact and leadership within the sector.
As a senior leader, she is committed to fostering high-performing teams, driving innovation, and ensuring Reed remains at the forefront of technology-led workforce solutions.
Keith Rosser, Director of Reed Screening
Keith is Founder and Director of Reed Screening, the UK’s only 24/7 UK-based screening company, and Chair of the Better Hiring Institute. Keith is a Non-Executive Board Member of the GLAA which is forming the new Fair Work Agency, and a Non-Executive with Disclosure Scotland. Keith is Honorary Fellow of Lancaster University and has been recognised with a Home Office Commendation Award for working on the digital right to work system, and as a Community Leader at Buckingham Palace. Keith is the winner of several industry awards including Recruiter Magazine, In House Recruiter, and the British HR Awards.