AN award-winning jobs board held its first #LoveLocalTalent conference in Brighton to address the challenges of the modern workforce.

It focused on the demographic cohort and how to attract and retain the next generation of staff.

The half-day conference was held at the Old Market in Hove.

Billy Humphreys, marketing manager at LoveLocalJobs.com, said: “There was a full line-up of top speakers with insights and useful tips about recruiting and maintaining staff.

“More than 110 businesses attended to find out what they could be doing to change their recruitment strategy.”

Adam Henderson from Millennial Mindset kicked off the conference with “The new rules of engagement for a rapidly evolving workforce”.

His talk covered the “Millennial Myth” and how the younger generation has grown up with technology at its fingertips and how businesses fundamentally need to “change the way they work to reflect the way the world is and not the way the world was.”

Tim Jarvis, owner of SeeThat, spoke about his experiences of starting a company as a millennial and the challenges he faced.

He talked about how businesses can adapt the way they internally speak to teams to reflect the changes in today’s world including social media and the use of Whatsapp.

Other speakers included Ann Potterton from BT who talked about the use of appprenticeships in businesses and how businesses in Sussex should be getting more out of the levy.

Graham Moore from Be the Change talked about how the organisation is increasing the life skills and employability skills of young people and how the programme opens students’ eyes to the world of work.

The day finished with a talk by Jamie Summers and Matt Oak from The Skills Farm.

They spoke about developing and leading the talent of today and tomorrow.

Feedback from businesses was positive.

Kim Jordan from One Family in West Street said: “I really thought that the speakers had put a lot of thought into their presentations and really encouraged you to think about your situation at work.”

Bianca Arsene from Crawley College said: “I was delighted to hear Adam mention that values are the most import thing in the attraction and retention of personnel movement.”

A spokesman for Canon UK said: “All the presentations excelled and the speakers were real, which was great.”

Mr Humphreys said recruitment is a big topic in Sussex.

He said: “Hundreds of people commute to London each day without knowing the great opportunities on their doorstep.

“The conference provided strategic changes on how business es can attract the audience they struggle to find.

“The event was everything we wanted it to be. After running a survey with local businesses back in March, it was clear to see there was a disconnect with job seekers and employers and we wanted to tackle this head on.”