Princess Kate has stepped out in the heart of the City of London to attend the first ever "Future Workforce Summit" as part of her work and advocacy for investment in the early years.
The summit, hosted by the Royal Foundation Business Taskforce for Early Childhood, has brought together the UK’s most influential business leaders to drive further action in the sector.
The Business Taskforce was established in March 2023 by Princess Kate to galvanise business action.
Today's Summit marks an important milestone for the Princess of Wales’s work and passion for the early years.
Kate, 43, arrived at Salesforce Tower to greet over 80 business leaders who had gathered to hear from experts in leadership, human development and early childhood.
The Princess of Wales is dedicated to driving societal-wide action towards babies and young children to create a healthier, happier society.
The future Queen is looking forward to hearing how businesses investing in the early years can play an important role in shaping the next generation.
The research shows that if younger children are better cared for, they will develop more useful human skills needed for any future workforce to thrive.
Princess Kate pictured in City of London at landmark summit alongside Sir Gareth Southgate
|REUTERS / TOBY SHEPHEARD / KENSINGTON PALACE
This comes especially at a time of huge technological progress and change, with the growing use of artificial intelligence.
Kate and the Royal Foundation Business Taskforce for Early Childhood are hoping to reach more than one million babies and young children in 2026.
The event is being hosted by journalist Mishal Husain and will include an onstage discussion from Sir Gareth Southgate and research psychologist Professor Marc Brackett.
In addition, there will be sessions from Professor Robert Waldinger from Harvard University and psychotherapist Philippa Perry, among others.
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Princess Kate is looking forward to hearing how businesses investing in the early years can play an important role in shaping the next generation
|REUTERS
Delegates will hear from leaders of Business Taskforce members Aviva, NatWest Group, Iceland, Ikea UK and Ireland, The Lego Group and Deloitte about the work their organisations have already delivered as part of the Taskforce.
For example, IKEA has partnered with local baby banks to ensure families have the essentials they need and launched a product range which raised money for the Baby Bank Alliance.
The LEGO Group has donated LEGO® Education Build Me “Emotions” sets to early years providers across every corner of the UK. The sets are designed to help children playfully explore their emotions.
Co-op created a dedicated early childhood fund through its unique apprentice levy share service, Co-op Levy Share. With Taskforce funding, it has already supported more than 130 early years apprentices, as part of its commitment to raise £5million over the next five years to create more than 600 apprenticeships.
Sir Gareth Southgate pictured at the summit in London
|TOBY SHEPHEARD / KENSINGTON PALACE
Finally, Deloitte has funded more than 1,300 early years teachers to undertake Teach First leadership qualifications.
Business leaders will also hear about innovative new projects from Amazon, Kellogg’s, Jude’s, Salesforce and the Co-op.
In its first year, the Business Taskforce produced "Prioritising early childhood for a happier, healthier society: How business can drive, and benefit from, transformative change in the UK".
This set out the case for prioritising early childhood and identifying the five areas where businesses can have the biggest impact.