DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions and World Economic Forum (WEF) strategic partner, will lead discussions at the 2012 WEF Annual Meeting in Davos this week — to enable business leaders and policymakers to collaboratively navigate complex world of work trends which are converging in the Human Age.

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This year's WEF summit, "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models," highlights how access to talent has replaced access to capital as the key competitive differentiator. ManpowerGroup initially defined the rise of "Talentism" at the WEF Annual Meeting in 2011 and detailed how it had birthed the Human Age, an era that requires all organizations and leaders to unleash human potential to win. The forces which are shaping this new age continue to accelerate and intensify, challenging businesses and individuals.

"Now that business leaders fully grasp that talent is their most vital resource, it's paramount that they effectively align business and workforce strategies while navigating a range of vacillating macro-economic forces and world crises," said Jeffrey A. Joerres, ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO. "Tapping today's diverse and disparate talent pools requires an integrated mix of innovative solutions. Employers need to utilize all solutions at their disposal —  including technology, targeted training and development programs, and the world's growing borderless workforce — to stay focused on competitive business growth. WEF is an excellent platform to share and evolve work models and people practices."

ManpowerGroup executives attending this week's WEF sessions include: Joerres; David Arkless, President of Corporate and Government Affairs; Francoise Gri, President of Southern Europe; Jonas Prising, President of the Americas; and Mara Swan, Executive Vice President, Global Strategy and Talent.

Wednesday 25th January:

Arkless will kick-start Developing Shared Value Strategies, a discussion on using corporate best practices as an economic development tool. Later, he will participate in the session, Practicing Talent Mobility for Economic Growth, in which business leaders will discuss how strategic migration and mobile talent accelerate growth.

Thursday 26th January:

Gri, who has been named to Fortune Magazine's prestigious list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in International Business for eight years in a row, will attend the Women Leaders Advisory Board Meeting.

Joerres will give his perspective on recommended talent solutions for accelerating global growth during the Employment for Growth: One Challenge, Six Solutions session. Increasing employment and driving economic growth are interlinked. However, in order to create jobs businesses need increased demand for their products and services. Finding, recruiting and retaining the right talent to drive business success is the biggest challenge employers face today.

During Freedom to Travel, Prising will lead a panel discussion on how to fuel job creation through travel.

Friday 27th January:

Business as the Driving Force to Employment. Joerres will chair a CEO-only session on how businesses fuel job creation, and how enabling individuals to achieve their potential ensures businesses have access to a sustainable pipeline of talent. Joerres will build on this theme, while leading the session, Solving the 600 million jobs challenge. He will describe innovative work model strategies and solutions.

Several executives from ManpowerGroup will build on the company's 60-year history for matching women with the right jobs in the sessions Gender Dynamics, a Systemic Approach to Gender Parity and a women-only event, Leadership in Challenging Times.

Prising will participate in the Overcoming the Youth Employment Challenge session. With more than 80 million young people unemployed today, businesses are increasingly disconnected from tomorrow's workforce.

Saturday 28th January:

Joerres will co-chair the B20 Task Force on Employment. A ManpowerGroup survey found that one in three employers, globally, are struggling to fill positions, yet high unemployment is one of the greatest global challenges we face today. Joerres will lead a task force of business leaders, joining together to alleviate this crisis, unleash human potential and ensure businesses have access to the talent they need to drive success.

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup™ (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, creates and delivers high-impact solutions that enable our clients to achieve their business goals and enhance their competitiveness. With over 60 years of experience, our $22 billion company creates unique time to value through a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions that help clients win in the Human Age. These solutions cover an entire range of talent-driven needs from recruitment and assessment, training and development, and career management, to outsourcing and workforce consulting. ManpowerGroup maintains the world's largest and industry-leading network of nearly 3,900 offices in over 80 countries and territories, generating a dynamic mix of an unmatched global footprint with valuable insight and local expertise to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, across all industry sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises, local, multinational and global companies. By connecting our deep understanding of human potential to the ambitions of clients, ManpowerGroup helps the organizations and individuals we serve achieve more than they imagined — because their success leads to our success. And by creating these powerful connections, we create power that drives organizations forward, accelerates personal success and builds more sustainable communities. We help power the world of work. The ManpowerGroup suite of solutions is offered through ManpowerGroup™ Solutions, Manpower®, Experis™ and Right Management®. Learn more about how the ManpowerGroup can help you win in the Human Age at www.manpowergroup.com.

ManpowerGroup is the most trusted brand in the industry, being the only company in our industry to be named to the Ethisphere Institute's 2011 World's Most Ethical Companies list for our proven commitment to ethical business practices, including an outstanding commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices and corporate social responsibility. In addition, ManpowerGroup has also been recognized as the industry leader by Fortune magazine, who named the company in first place on its 2011 list of the Most Admired Companies in the temporary help sector.

In January 2011, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ManpowerGroup announced the world has entered the Human Age, where talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator. Learn more about this new age at www.manpowergroup.com/humanage

Gain access to ManpowerGroup's extensive thought leadership papers, annual Talent Shortage surveys and the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, one of the most trusted indices of employment activity in the world, via the ManpowerGroup World of Work Insight iPad application. This thought leadership app explores the challenges faced by employers navigating the changing world of work and provides in-depth commentary, analysis, insight and advice on strategies for success.

Follow ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres on Twitter: twitter.com/manpowergroupjj. Joerres is one of only six Fortune 500 CEOs who leverages a Twitter account to get his message out.

SOURCE ManpowerGroup