👀 In the past days I came across the notion of the Personal Retention Plan. In many organizations, senior-level retention planning has been left to the CHRO, sometimes with support from the CEO or board. Per a feature in the Harvard Business Review, top executives aren’t always aware of how frequently their key leaders are considering departure. Plus, an organization’s top leaders may not openly communicate their concerns out of fear of appearing unable to handle the role, or simply out of hope that “things will calm down soon” (and they seldom do).

That’s why Darcy Eikenberg, PCC and Tony Martignetti, MBA, PCC advise any executive considering an early departure to first create their own Personal Retention Plan (PRP). Per these experts, “a Personal Retention Plan is a simple, self-created blueprint for redesigning your role, relationships, and expectations in ways to help you stay and succeed without burning out”. How does this sound do you?

‼️The world we live in… This one has me going through different emotions…: despair: in our days, no organization is safe from scammers and cyberattacks; resilience: we shall not give in, and continue to counter these criminal practices, also because we owe it to our colleagues ans candidates; pride: as the colleagues addressing the situation are the most competent in the industry.

So here we go: this week, the IT Security Team of my employer, shared the following alert: ongoing cyberattacks targeting our senior leaders and consultants: “We’ve been made aware of a new wave of scams where cybercriminals are impersonating our consultants and senior leaders to approach external contacts with fake job opportunities, often including a cash incentive, via email. These messages are becoming increasingly convincing. In many cases, cybercriminals build credibility over time before pressuring individuals to act. This can include requests to share personal information, pay for services such as CV writing or third-party offerings, or purchase software with the promise of reimbursement once a role is secured. These jobs do not exist, leaving victims exposed to financial fraud. Among the actions, we are working on a plan to communicate advice for job seekers and professionals on navigating the increasing number of scams targeting them”. So please: do stay alert!

⚖️ These past days took me to the OECD - OCDE Skills Summit, bringing together Government Stakeholders and key experts from the OECD Member States and partners to provide an update on Skills and Education Policies around the world. The Summit takes place every 2 years, and the interventions were razor focused on how the world has changed since the last such gathering in 2024. For all of those who question whether Governments feel a sense of urgency, I can confirm that that is the case. One of the most interesting interventions came from Colombia, represented by the Minister of Culture to underline that the topic of Skills “does not belong to Education, Employment, Economy, Education or Finance alone, but to the entire country”, stating notably that a country’s approach needs to evolve from an Education system to a Skills system.

As one of the two global representatives from the private sector, my call for the need to co-create the frameworks with business was well received. This requires intentional approaches – and investments, also by the business community. In times of economic uncertainty, companies run tighter cost control measures – well these are exactly the moments where investments in training should be intensified and not reduced.

To learn more about the Skills Summit, visit the general site – or let me know what interests you. OECD Skills Summit 2026

📖 One of the recurrent topics in Skills and Employment policy making is the need to reinforce measures to facilitate work-readiness programs. For many businesses, that is easier said than done - and the cost argument often prevails. So I am delighted to share that the GAN Global - Global Apprenticeship Network - has published a calculator of the ROI of apprenticeships to business: Quality Apprenticeships Implementation and Return on Investment Guide | GAN Global.

It is a practical roadmap for employers seeking to design, improve, and scale apprenticeship programs that strengthen talent pipelines, address skills gaps, and support inclusion. Through a five‑phase framework, it offers concrete tools, checklists, and global case studies from leading companies such as Accenture, Buehler, Nestlé, SAP, dsm-firmenich, Microsoft, L'Oréal, The Adecco Group. That is my Read of the week – with a Call to Action to companies to set up work-readiness schemes if they are not running any yet!

🎥 On this week’s view, I share https://youtu.be/rp80nz61q4A?si=kwVq3i_F6MyIj0Do – first because I am a big fan of Francine Lacqua from Bloomberg News, and second because the headline of this “Leaders with Talk” is “Why Working from Home is “Career Suicide”. Always interesting to get clear views such as Emma Grede shared. Thoughts?