Below you'll find a preview of what's on the agenda at GWX26. This two-day event features sessions organized by theme — Recruiting, Skilling, Finance & Investment, Innovation, and cross-cutting conversations — with breakout sessions and networking opportunities running throughout, including a reception the evening of the first night. More details on speakers to follow.
Wednesday, 2 December
Morning
0830 – 0900
Registration
0900 – 0945
Opening
Setting a Vision of a Globally Mobile Workforce
For most of history, demography - and geography - has been destiny. Where a person was born has largely defined their economic opportunities in life. The diverging demographic futures of the Global South and Global North create an opportunity to change this, as labor mobility becomes an increasingly important part of how economies sustain growth. In this opening plenary, we will hear from visionaries advocating for the transformative potential of a globally mobile workforce, and the role of the mobility industry in unlocking this future.
Plenary
0945 – 1030
State of the Market: Where We Are, What’s Shifting, and What It Means for the Industry
The forces shaping international mobility are rapidly shifting. Governments are reassessing work visa policies in response to changing political priorities, demographic pressures, and evolving workforce needs, while AI is reshaping labor markets in ways that remain difficult to predict. In this session, experts across immigration policy, law, and labor economics will examine the major trends shaping international mobility - and what they mean for the industry.
Plenary
1030 – 1045
Coffee Break
Breakout Sessions
1045 – 1145
From Zero to Pipeline: Demand Generation for Recruiters Starting Out
Building a cross-border recruitment business means turning employer interest into sustainable demand. In this session recruiters building labor mobility pipelines will share practical lessons on what works, what doesn't, and how to turn early conversations into lasting partnerships - from sparking employer interest and demonstrating value to growing one-off placements into sustainable business relationships.
Recruiting
Speak. Work. Belong: What Makes Language Training for Labor Mobility Work
Language training can be critical to helping workers navigate new workplaces and communities, yet programs need to balance cost, scale and quality with the needs of both workers and employers. Following four lightning talks featuring approaches from German, Japanese, Italian and multilingual contexts, this interactive Best Practice Clinic will explore the practical challenges of delivering effective language preparation at scale. Participants will work with speakers to identify transferable solutions and consider how language training can become a more integrated part of the mobility journey, including through the use of technology.
Skilling
Thinking Like an Investor: Migration Finance 101, Cash Flow, and Scale
Mobility businesses face distinctive challenges when it comes to financing growth, from managing cash flow and liquidity to demonstrating value and managing risk. This session introduces mobility businesses to the fundamentals of designing and financing sustainable models, with perspectives from guest investors and financial institutions on what makes a business investable. Speakers will share the pitches that have built their confidence, the questions they ask, and the red flags that can deter investment - giving participants practical guidance on financing growth and using capital effectively.
Finance & Investment
1145 – 1200
Coffee Break
1200 – 1300
Workers as Clients: Building Feedback into the Business Model
Migrant workers are at the heart of labor mobility pathways, yet their perspectives are not always built into how services are designed and delivered. This session explores what it looks like to make worker feedback a meaningful part of day-to-day business operations — helping organizations identify problems earlier, strengthen trust and relationships, and improve retention and outcomes. Panelists will share practical approaches and tools for listening to workers, responding to feedback, and turning insight into action.
Recruiting
Train to Recruit: How Training Partnerships Drive Demand
Recruiters and trainers each hold half of the puzzle. Recruiters know where the demand sits, which employers are hiring, and what it takes to get a candidate placed. Trainers know how to build the skills that make a candidate placeable. Working separately, both sides leave value on the table: trainers risk turning out graduates without a clear path to jobs, and recruiters chase placements without a reliable talent pipeline behind them. This session explores how recruiter-trainer partnerships can unlock labor demand that neither side can generate alone, in the context of cross-border pipelines. Successful training for international markets may look different than for domestic markets, presenting unique opportunities and challenges for traditional providers.
Skilling
Solving the Cash Flow Challenge: Distributing Cost and Risk in Labor Mobility
The timing of revenues and expenses in mobility models can create significant cash flow challenges, particularly as international recruitment scales. This session features operators sharing the financial solutions and models they have developed to address these pressures. They will highlight approaches to risk-sharing designs, milestone-linked payments and other ways of distributing costs and risk more effectively, offering practical examples of how financial solutions can help make labor mobility more scalable, sustainable and responsible.
Finance & Investment
Afternoon
1300 – 1400
Networking Lunch
1400 – 1500
Worker Voices on the Journey: What Worked, What Didn’t, and What Needs to Change
Migrant workers are at the center of the global labor mobility system, yet their experiences are often missing from conversations about how that system should work. Their journeys span recruitment, preparation, migration, arrival, employment, and return - with different actors and decisions shaping each stage. In this session, migrant workers will share their experiences firsthand, exploring what worked, what didn't, and what labor mobility actors can learn from their journeys to build a system that works better for those who follow.
Plenary
1500 – 1515
Coffee Break
1515 – 1700
Community Roundtables
Dedicated spaces for peer exchange within specific regions and sectors, they are a space to connect with others navigating similar realities and build relationships beyond the formal agenda.
1800 onwards
Networking Dinner
Thursday, 3 December
Morning
0830 – 0900
Opening
0900 – 1000
The Employer Perspective: Value, Risk, and What the Experience Actually Looks Like
Employers are an essential key to unlocking mobility, and yet existing systems and offerings are often not designed well to meet their needs. For international recruitment to grow, employers need predictability - clear value, manageable risk, and confidence that the process will deliver for their workforce every time. In this session, we will hear directly from employers about their experience of hiring internationally: what works well, what doesn't, and what it takes to earn their trust and win their business.
Plenary
1000 – 1015
Coffee Break
Breakout Sessions
1015 – 1115
Doing It Right, Doing It Well: The Business Case for Responsible Recruitment
Responsible recruitment requires investment - in compliance, worker protections and the systems needed to maintain high standards. Yet in a competitive market, those investments are not always equally recognized or rewarded. This session explores how responsible recruiters can build sustainable businesses while maintaining strong standards, and what it takes to create a market where quality and responsible practice can thrive. Panelists from responsible recruiter associations will share practical lessons from their markets and approaches to raising standards across the industry.
Recruiting
Skills Without Borders: Developing Globally Recognized Competencies
As populations age and demand for long-term care grows, countries are facing increasing pressure to develop the workforce needed to provide quality care. Training and labor mobility partnerships can help destination countries address workforce needs while equipping workers with skills that are recognized and portable across borders. This session will explore how common reference frameworks and emerging digital credentialing tools can make care skills more visible, usable and transferable - supporting immediate workforce needs while creating longer-term opportunities for workers and strengthening care systems in both destination and origin countries.
Skilling
Making the Case with Data: Metrics That Move Capital & Promote Growth
The labor mobility sector currently lacks the shared data infrastructure needed to demonstrate its financial viability and impact. This session is a working conversation where recruiters, investors and financial institutions across the ecosystem will co-design what “good data” looks like: which metrics move capital, which results demonstrate impact, and how reporting can be more useful without becoming another burden. We’ll discuss the barriers to data sharing and begin shaping the shared infrastructure the sector needs to strengthen investment and growth.
Finance & Investment
1115 – 1130
Coffee Break
1130 – 1230
More than an App: Tech. Solutions Shaping the Industry
Technology is becoming an increasingly important part of how labor mobility works - from recruitment and language learning to public infrastructure and tools designed to solve specific gaps in the ecosystem. This session brings together a spectrum of builders to explore how different models, incentives and constraints shape the solutions they develop. Panelists will consider where private capital and public infrastructure can complement each other, where they may come into tension, and what it will take to bring responsible, effective technology to the workers who need it most.
Recruiting
Innovation
Public, Private, or Both? Getting the Delivery Model Right
Government and private recruiters are often presented as competing models for delivering labor mobility. This session moves beyond the public-versus-private debate to explore where different actors can add the most value, and how they can work together to make labor mobility more efficient, responsive and well-governed. Panelists will consider what each sector does best, where responsibilities are best shared, and how different delivery models can work across different markets and pathways - exploring what effective collaboration can look like in practice.
Recruiting
Community Discussion: Perspectives on Principled Migrant Finance
Financing the costs associated with labor mobility can be challenging for workers, employers and recruiters alike, particularly when costs arise well before a worker begins earning. This raises the question: could well-designed financial products for migration candidates help expand access to mobility while protecting them from excessive financial risk? This community discussion explores the potential and limitations of approaches such as loans and income-share models, alongside the consumer protections needed to make them work. Participants will help explore where responsible financial innovation could create new pathways to opportunity.
Finance & Investment
Afternoon
1230 – 1330
Networking Lunch
1330 – 1430
Strengthening Post-Arrival Support in Labor Mobility Pathways
Labor mobility pathways do not end when a worker arrives. The weeks and months that follow can be critical to whether a placement succeeds, yet post-arrival support - from orientation and housing to language access, workplace induction and ongoing support - remains inconsistent across programs. This session brings together city, employer, and civil-society perspectives to explore the local dimension of post-arrival support - what strong support looks like in practice, why it matters for workers and employers, and how different actors can share responsibility for getting it right.
Recruiting
Narrative Change: Making the Case for Labor Mobility
Migration debates have become increasingly polarized, yet labor mobility offers a practical way to connect migration with the workforce, demographic and economic challenges facing countries today. By connecting people, skills and opportunity across borders, it can support economic growth, address workforce needs and create opportunity for workers. This session brings together practitioners, funders and allies to explore how to make that case more effectively - reaching beyond traditional networks, opening up new collaborations, and developing narratives that resonate across public and policy debates.
Cross-cutting
Labor Mobility's Got Talent: Start-ups Take the Stage
New ideas and emerging technologies are reshaping cross-border labor mobility, with start-ups tackling some of the industry's biggest challenges. This session puts a curated line-up of trailblazing start-ups in the spotlight. Founders and senior leaders get ten minutes to pitch their boldest ideas to a live audience and panel of judges, who'll challenge and champion each one. The audience then votes for the most innovative start-up, which walks away with bragging rights and a highly coveted trophy. Expect big ideas, bold personalities, and a little friendly chaos.
Innovation
1430 – 1500
Coffee Break
1500 – 1545
Fueling Growth: How New Players Are Bringing New Capital and Tools to the Industry
Mobility has significant potential for growth, but the industry has historically received limited investment in the capital, technology, and infrastructure needed to realize that potential. That is beginning to change, with new players bringing fresh approaches to the sector. In this session, we will meet some of the investors and ecosystem players working to stand up new mobility operators and build the infrastructure needed to accelerate growth across the industry.
Plenary
1545 – 1615
Coffee Break
1615 – 1700
Closing
Towards a Shared System: Introducing Tools for Collaboration That Can Help the Whole Industry Thrive
The labor mobility industry has historically been fragmented, with recruiters, employers, training providers, governments and investors often working across different systems, standards and sources of information. But that needs to change. A more connected, coordinated industry is vital - one where actors can share intelligence, address bottlenecks collectively, and build towards shared standards. In this final session, we will hear from existing associations bringing different parts of the industry together, and introduce ways to carry forward the collaboration established at GWX into the future.
Plenary