Alain Dehaze

“One of the strengths of the U.K. is its ability to attract very highly talented people from all over the places, but also their ability to send English people outside. So they're very brain circulation-oriented, and I do hope, even with Brexit, they will keep this asset they have.”

“At best, policy is about protecting the rights of all workers while also driving fair competition and enabling opportunity. It is about making the future work for everyone. At worst, policy tries to resist change and creates uneven playing fields that eventually hurt everyone.”

“It is urgent to shift from a traditional, authoritative, rote educational approach to a project-based and experiential approach. Specific hard skills are fundamental, but is even more important that students 'learn how to learn' and focus on crucial soft skills such as flexibility and the ability to adapt to change.”

“Adecco and Penna have a long history of working together, and Penna represents an excellent strategic fit for Adecco in U.K. HR services, expanding the breadth and depth of services Adecco is able to offer to its clients. The acquisition of Penna also offers meaningful synergy potential for Adecco in the U.K.”

“I don't think that the ECB should compensate for the lack of reforms in some countries... But it is clear that monetary policy can help countries and continents to rebound faster.”

“Rapid development in areas like machine-to-machine communications and the Internet of Things, coupled with the proliferation of big data, means higher-skilled professions, such as lawyers, journalists and accountants, are changing too. Some of their tasks are being replaced.”

“Diversity requires commitment. Achieving the superior performance diversity can produce needs further action - most notably, a commitment to develop a culture of inclusion. People do not just need to be different, they need to be fully involved and feel their voices are heard.”

“I strongly believe in the apprenticeship model because we see in a lot of countries the local education system is not providing talent that businesses need. So it is important that there is an alignment between what the companies need and the education system, so the education system can build the right programmes.”

“In our perform agenda, segmentation is one of our key strategic priorities. Segmentation is about deploying the right go-to-market channel to the right customers with the right pricing and the right cost to serve. And as a result, the segmentation strategy ensures that we generate profitable growth.”

“We don't see any material impact of Brexit, either in the U.K. or in the neighbouring countries and the U.K.'s trading partners.”

“Young people encounter great challenges at the beginning of their careers.”

“Diverse groups do best at complex problems and innovation when the facts aren't clear: each individual's perspective allows him or her to tackle challenges differently and, when stuck, rely on others' differing points of views to progress.”

“Because of outdated regulations, workers in different types of contract often have unequal access to healthcare, pensions, education, and training, as well as other social benefits. This has to change for countries to remain competitive and for our businesses and workers to survive in the digital age.”

“Countries which favour openness and the mobility of skilled talent secure the development of more diverse and culturally rich work environments, a higher level of innovation, as well as entrepreneurship and wider international networks.”

“As digitalisation and the ageing population trends advance, international mobility and the development of employable skills are crucial to balance demographic gaps and surpluses as well as the deficit of skills across the world.”

“For organisations, flexibility is a must to cope with fluctuations in demand and remain competitive, and people must be able to develop adaptable attitudes to quickly embrace evolving business conditions, new business opportunities, and shifting strategies.”

“Given the rapid rate of change, the old paradigm of one-off education followed by a career will no longer work: life-long learning is a must, and it is up to governments and employers to invest in training and for employees to commit to constantly update their skill set.”

“The mentality needs to be changed, and sometimes legislation needs to be improved. There is a perception that apprenticeships are for jobs with low qualifications.”

“Young people want to work.”

“I think that U.K. together with Europe will be stronger, and I also think Europe with U.K. will be stronger.”