Blog

Connect, Collaborate, Celebrate: Basecamp’s power of three

7 Oct 2025

From Julie Graham, CEO Ingeus Employment Services. 

I find the power of three fascinating. From storytelling and memorable quotes to visual design and marketing slogans, it’s the phenomenon that our brains process patterns of three easily; that they’re more satisfying, effective, and memorable.

It shows up everywhere, and last week it was at The Lowry in Manchester. 
For the third year running, Basecamp, the award-winning convention from the Institute of Employability Professionals (IEP), was back. With Ingeus as the headline sponsor – for the third time – it was a fantastic opportunity for frontline employability professionals to share ideas, build skills, and shape the future of our profession: the IEP’s very own rule of three!

I am an avid believer in the power of professional development to transform lives, not just for our own teams, but for the people and communities we serve. Basecamp provides a unique platform for frontline practitioners and first line managers to stay informed on the latest trends, tools, and techniques in the sector. It is a privilege to attend, and we invite  our allocation of places to staff actively demonstrating the passion and growth mindset to benefit from it. 

Recognising our culture of continuous learning, this year Ingeus  achieved IEP Silver Professional Excellence status. Investing in Basecamp with our sponsorship, time and expertise reflects our determination to raise the bar for everyone working at the sharp end of employability support. 

After a whirlwind day, as I jumped back on the train from Basecamp 2025, I considered my three big wins from attending:

Connection
For me, the most valuable part of any event is meeting people face-to-face. Our work is all about people and I sensed a genuine sense of pride and excitement from everyone there about being part of Basecamp 2025.
Sometimes the best professional growth doesn’t happen at your desk. It happens when you step into a room full of industry peers and new ideas. It was great to see both familiar and new faces at Basecamp and, if past years are anything to go by, connections made by everyone attending will likely lead on to much bigger things.
For me, it was also great to spend the day with so many of our frontline staff who I don’t normally spend much time with. It was great to connect with each one of this passionate group of people who represent our Ingeus team.

Collaboration
One aspect I value most about our sector is the sense of collaboration. Organisations share their learnings freely and we seize the chance to innovate and try new approaches. It was great to see our very own Jonty Rooke, Performance Support Manager in London, so passionately open the day’s proceedings, while Anton Eckersley, our Director of International Relations, brought a global perspective to proceedings, looking at how our counterparts in other corners of the world are meeting similar workforce development challenges.

I was especially excited to the hear conversations around artificial intelligence and how it is transforming our work. Far from replacing the talent in that Manchester room, new digital and AI tools are already shaping how professionals can establish and plan the most effective help for everyone they’re supporting. Thank you to Claudine Adeyemi-Adams for her insights throughout the day on how we can enhance what we do using AI.

Celebration
The IEP Learning Awards are an integral and important part of Basecamp, demonstrating the truly inspiring learners and their allies across our sector. I was delighted to hear the different award categories, and I send my congratulations to all the winners. I am incredibly proud of our Ingeus learners who were nominated for the IEP Continuous Learner of the Year - Alisha Ripley, Vicky Davies Cavill and Stuart Bowmer. Well done to you all and congratulations to Alisha on winning this award.

So, for now, I’ve bid farewell to Manchester but know that a great event like Basecamp doesn’t end when the lights go down. As this year’s ‘Insight to Impact’ theme suggests, we now need to bring those connections, insights, and energy back to count where it matters most – with our participants.