Bank of Ireland and cut-e Win Top Award for National Talent Programme

The Talent Rising National Development Programme – a partnership between the Bank of Ireland and assessment specialist cut-e – has won Ireland’s prestigious Pearse Walsh Award, which recognises innovation in learning.
 
Established in 2015, Talent Rising is a cross-organisational development programme, involving a consortium of leading employers, which is designed to nurture young people with high potential and enable social and economic progress in Ireland.
 
Bank of Ireland is the founding patron, and co-designed the programme with cut-e. Other organisations involved to date include the professional services firm Accenture; food business Aryzta; Bord Gáis Energy, the energy supplier; Chanelle Group, the pharmaceutical company; media company eir; Fonua, the telecoms service provider, and Jameson, the whiskey distiller.
 
“We’re delighted that Talent Rising has won this high-status award for innovation in learning and development,” said David Barrett, Chief Operating Officer of cut-e. “Talent Rising is a not-for-profit initiative that’s designed to develop early career, high potential individuals who have been nominated by their employer. The participants gain a greater understanding of their strengths, their values, their preferred style of working and how they are perceived by others. They also collaborate together to identify and address an issue of national importance. So as well as providing a unique development experience for the individuals involved, this programme promotes innovation and entrepreneurial thinking, and it has the potential to benefit Ireland too.”
 
In the eight-week programme, rising stars from leading Irish businesses receive one-to-one coaching and they take part in self-assessments, 360-degree feedback initiatives, a development centre and weekly learning and development sessions that enhance the skills and competencies they’ll need in their future careers. Presented by subject matter experts, the weekly learning sessions cover aspects such as design thinking, developing ideas, self management, career management, working with others and presenting with impact.
 
The participants also work in teams to identify a specific social or economic challenge facing Ireland. Each team develops ideas and presents their own solution to their chosen challenge, to a panel of senior Irish business leaders.
 
Created in 2007, the Pearse Walsh Award commemorates the passion and commitment of Pearse Walsh, who founded the Dublin-based learning specialist Harvest in 1984. The 2017 award was presented at the Irish Institute of Training and Development National Training Awards gala dinner on Friday 3 March, at the Killahsee House Hotel in Kildare. 
  
Further information about the Talent Rising programme is available at talentrising