Always learning in practice: reflections from our annual Learning Festival

Our annual Learning Festival is a team-led initiative designed to share experience, reflect on real work, and build capability beyond day-to-day delivery. It isn’t a formal training programme and it isn’t owned by HR. Instead, it’s built by our people, for our people — grounded in lived experience and genuine curiosity.

That distinction matters. Because learning here isn’t something that sits alongside work. It’s part of how we work.

Why knowledge sharing matters to us

One of our core values is always learning. For us, it’s about creating an environment where experience is shared openly, curiosity is encouraged, and people are supported to keep growing.

We believe knowledge compounds when it’s shared. When people talk honestly about what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what they’ve learned along the way, everyone benefits. Confidence grows. Capability deepens. And teams become stronger as a whole.

That belief shows up in how we invest in our people year-round. Everyone has access to an executive coach. Everyone has a substantial training budget. And alongside that, we create regular opportunities for internal knowledge sharing so learning is practical, generous and rooted in real delivery.

The Learning Festival is one of the clearest expressions of that mindset.

What the Learning Festival brought to life

This year’s festival brought together sessions spanning professional growth, delivery maturity, communication, advisory skills and emerging technology. Rather than focusing on theory, sessions centred on tools, techniques and lessons people actually use.

A few themes stood out across the week:

Reflection before momentum

Discussions around goal setting, habits and prioritisation reinforced the importance of clarity before action. Sustainable progress comes from understanding priorities and constraints, not from movement for its own sake.

Experience over polish

Whether discussing presentation design or stakeholder communication, a consistent message emerged: the most effective approaches are simple, human and grounded in experience. Clear narratives beat crowded slides. Honest conversations matter more than perfect wording.

Maturity in delivery

Sessions on escalation and scope management reframed these topics as signs of good governance, not failure. Knowing when to seek clarity, when to hold boundaries, and when to escalate appropriately is a mark of experienced delivery, and something that can be learned and shared.

Curiosity about what’s next

Discussions around AI focused less on hype and more on practical, responsible use. Curiosity was balanced with governance, with people exploring how new tools can amplify how we work rather than replace it.

Throughout the week, people shared not just what they know, but how they think. That kind of judgement, nuance and perspective only comes from time in the trenches.

Built by the team, for the team

The Learning Festival was brought together by Heather Nugent, our Talent Development Partner, with sessions led by colleagues across the business. That structure is intentional.

Learning here is not delivered top-down. It is shaped by people who are actively doing the work and are willing to share what they have learned along the way. The willingness to give time, speak honestly and challenge constructively is what gives this type of learning its value.

Interested in life at Liqueo?

We’re intentional about building an environment where brilliant people can thrive: supported by coaching, encouraged by curiosity, and strengthened through shared experience. Where learning is ongoing, collective and embedded in how work gets done.

Find out more about careers at Liqueo here.