2026 Annual Conference

The conference will take place on Thursday 17 September in Dundalk and the theme is “Creating, strengthening and retaining talent on the island of Ireland: Cross-border push and pull factors“.

The conference will focus on the factors that persuade or discourage individuals on the talent journey on the island of Ireland from undertaking it on a cross-border basis.

Keynote speakers and panellists will explore those factors in relation to three stages of the talent journey: accessing the initial provision of skills from educational institutions on the island of Ireland; how employers in both jurisdictions attract and nurture talent; and how to retain talent on the island once it has been created and strengthened.

To register your interest in sponsorship opportunities, please email the team.

Draft programme

Networking breakfast

Welcome by CCBC Chair

Welcome by Headline Sponsor

Panel 1: Creating talent – the demand side

This Panel will look into the factors influencing the choices school-leavers – the future talent pool – on the island of Ireland make:

• What is the scope of the options they initially consider in terms of where they will go once they leave school, and do these include options in the other jurisdiction on the island of Ireland and/or elsewhere?
• What influences their final choice, particularly if it involves going to the other jurisdiction on the island of Ireland or elsewhere, whether that be continuing into further or higher education, vocational training, an apprenticeship or entering directly into employment?
• Does it matter to employers where school leavers go to begin their talent journey?

Keynote Speaker

Panel 2: Creating talent – the supply side

This Panel will focus on further, higher and continuing education provision on the island of Ireland in terms of the creation of the talent pool, and the extent to which their offer and impact is cross-jurisdictional. Among the potential issues to be discussed are:

• Why do/would educational institutions promote their offer beyond their own jurisdiction?
• To what extent do employers engage with educational institutions in terms of skills development and do any of these employers operate in both jurisdictions and/or elsewhere?
• To what extent do government strategies and funding models support educational institutions in receiving students from the other jurisdiction on the island of Ireland and/or from elsewhere?

Lunch

Keynote Speaker

Panel 3: Attracting, nurturing and retaining talent

This Panel will explore how employers attract the talent they need to operate successfully, and how they develop and retain that talent. Among the possible questions to be addressed are:

• When they are looking to attract talent, how far do they look? Do they look across to the other jurisdiction on the island of Ireland and/or elsewhere? If not, why not?
• What would attract someone on the island of Ireland to an employer in the other jurisdiction and/or someone from elsewhere to an employer on the island of Ireland?
• Do employers who operate in both jurisdictions on the island of Ireland and/or elsewhere need to develop particular skills within their workforce, and how does this take place?
• Given the different contexts in the two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland, what are the challenges for employers to retain talent? What prompts people to leave and what makes them stay with an employer?

Actionable pathways forwards

Closing remarks

• Tickets

  Details to be announced.

• Sponsorship Opportunities

  To discuss sponsorship opportunities and how we might tailor them to your specific needs, please email the team at conference@crossborder.ie.

   

  Headline/Co-Headline Sponsorship

  • Branding on the invitation, the conference webpage, and CCBC staff email signature
  • Advertorial included in the event programme and one full-page advertorial in the Journal for Cross Border Studies in Ireland
  • Designated promotional space in the conference room
  • Promotional video displayed at intervals during the conference
  • Two tickets to the conference and dinner, and overnight accommodation on 18 September
  • Branding on social media posts before, during and after the conference
  • Opportunity to make Welcoming Comments

  

  (Conference 2022)

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  Panel Sponsor

  • Branding on the conference webpage, programme and during the panel discussion
  • Designated promotional space at the conference reception
  • Promotional video displayed before the relevant session at the conference
  • Two tickets to the conference and dinner
  • Branding on social media posts before, during and after the conference

  

  

  (The Conference 2025 Co-Headline Sponsors were Dublin Belfast Economic Corridor and North West Tertiary Education Cluster)

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  Closing Sponsor

  • Branding on the conference webpage and programme
  • Designated promotional space in the dining room and at the conference reception
  • One ticket to the conference and dinner
  • Branding on social media posts

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  Networking Spaces Sponsor

  • Branding on the conference webpage and programme
  • Designated promotional space in the dining room and at the conference reception
  • One ticket to the conference and dinner
  • Branding on social media posts

  

   

  

  

   

  

  (Networking Spaces, Conference 2025)

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  Dinner Sponsor

  • Branding included on the conference webpage, programme and menu
  • Designated promotional space in the dining room
  • One ticket to the conference dinner
  • Branding on social media posts before, during and after the conference

  

  (Pre-Dinner Reception, Conference 2025)