Toronto, May 2026
The World Employment Conference (WEC) 2026 brought together leaders, policymakers, and industry experts from 32 countries in Toronto, Canada, for two days of high-level dialogue on the future of work. Co-organised with the Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services (ACSESS), and held under the theme Grow With Talent, the 59th edition of WEC’s annual conference arrived at a moment of profound economic uncertainty, and left with a clear sense of shared direction.
Published on 19th May 2026
A Global Call to Action
The conference opened with a powerful call to action from WEC President Bettina Schaller and ACSESS President Randy Upright, joined by the Honourable David Piccini, Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. Their message set the tone for everything that followed: the private employment services industry stands at an inflection point, and the decisions made now, by businesses, by policymakers, and by industry bodies ,will shape labour markets for years to come.
Workforce Trends, Leadership and AI
Jonas Prising, Chairman and CEO of ManpowerGroup, mapped the forces reshaping workforce solutions in 2026 and beyond, underscoring the industry’s enduring role as the heart of workforce transformation. Eric Termuende and Shawn Kanungo brought energy and provocation to the keynote programme across both days, challenging delegates to treat disruption as opportunity and strategy as a living, creative discipline.
Artificial intelligence emerged as one of the defining threads of the conference. A dedicated panel featuring WEC President Bettina Schaller, DEKRA’s Petar Divjanović, AI and privacy law specialist Mary Seery Kearney, and employment attorney Nathaniel Glasser examined how AI is reshaping HR services and generating a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. Marcus Sawyerr, CEO of EQ app, pushed the conversation further, presenting a vision of the “agentic era” in recruitment, where AI eliminates administrative burden, freeing recruiters to focus on the judgment-based work that drives real placement value.
Policy, Global Talent and Ethical Recruitment
WEC 2026 reaffirmed the industry’s commitment to shaping the policy environment. Mario Nava, Director-General for Employment at the European Commission, contributed a global perspective on enabling growth while maintaining workforce protections. Mark Pearson of the OECD and Rafael Diez de Medina of the ILO closed the conference with a frank assessment of the global economic outlook and the long-term implications of AI for labour market policy.
Cross-border talent featured prominently across both days. A session on ethical labour corridors explored how responsible global labour mobility strengthens economies and creates sustainable competitive advantage. The Employer of Record model also took centre stage, with leaders examining how EOR solutions are enabling staffing firms to expand internationally with confidence. The World Café sessions added further depth, covering topics ranging from skills scarcity in LATAM and APAC, to platform work regulation and lessons from integrating Ukrainian refugees into European labour markets.
WEC Awards 2026: Recognising Excellence Across the Industry
The conference ended in the WECelebrate Gala Dinner, where the WEC Awards 2026 were presented, recognising national federation members and their corporate nominees whose work has made a tangible difference to their industries, their members, and the people they serve.
Spanning four categories: Leadership in Social Innovation, Outstanding Advocacy, Remarkable Initiative, and the Trailblazer Award, the nominations reflected the breadth of challenges the global employment services sector is navigating: regulatory reform, workforce formalisation, social inclusion, and the role of technology in reshaping access to quality work.
Spanning four categories, the winners were: the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), recognised for Outstanding Advocacy; FEDIL Employment Services (FES) from Luxembourg, awarded for Leadership in Social Innovation; APSO from South Africa, honoured with the Remarkable Initiative award; and Quess Corp from India, named winner of the Trailblazer Award.
Looking Ahead: WEC 2027 in Rome
As delegates left Toronto, one announcement generated particular excitement: the World Employment Conference 2027 will take place in Rome, Italy. WEC looks forward to welcoming the global private employment services community to one of Europe’s great cities for what promises to be another landmark edition of the conference.
See you in Rome 13-14 April 2027!
