Mastering the learning journey at URW

Continuous learning and targeted development journeys – skills for every step of your career

At URW, we are committed to providing our teams with continuous learning opportunities, both to help them grow and succeed in their roles, and to support their career evolutions and international mobility.
Our learning approach is anchored by the URW Academy, which since 1995 has been charting innovative learning journeys designed to empower every employee. The Academy is a constant resource for all colleagues to learn and grow professionally and personally, from new starters to our most senior leaders.

Sharing the fundamentals
The learning journey at URW begins with our URW Fundamentals onboarding experience. Held twice each year, this is a hands-on experience where new colleagues from different departments and regions gather in the Paris Headquarters for two days of interactive workshops and presentations that immerse them into the context of our business and our industry. Aimed at providing new employees with a concrete overview of our daily operations, the experience includes thought-provoking discussions, educational games, creative activations, as well as guided tours of our assets.

Every member of our International Graduate Program (IGP) also enjoys a four-day learning experience at the IGP Seminar. Held every year in a different country, the Seminar is designed to educate our IGP members on strategic business topics and soft skills through networking, coaching, workshops and inspiring keynote speeches from our leaders and external experts.

1. 150 new employees trained in URW Fundamentals in 2023

2. 40 new recruits from Europe and the US gathered for the 2023 International Graduate Program Seminar

Learning is available all-year long
In addition to the tailored learning paths that the URW Academy designs for each department, which are available all year long, another annual milestone is our Group-wide Learning Week. This is a chance for all employees across the entire company to focus on their development and benefit from dozens of learning opportunities. In 2023, Learning Week ran from June 12-16, with topics ranging from the rise of ChatGPT to intercultural work environments and sustainable urban regeneration. Five global keynotes were held, while each of URW’s regions also organised a variety of learning experiences, including presentation techniques and public speaking; talks about neurodiversity and wellbeing; discussions on the Metaverse; and how to increase creativity in the workplace.

1. Overall 1,400 participants joined the URW Learning Week 2023 global sessions and upskilled

Transformational trainings
As we believe that the role of managers is essential to the success of the teams and our business, we built and deployed an internal URW Manager Programme across our regions starting in 2022. The programme focuses on sharpening key managerial skills though workshops and webinars around core topics such as sharing feedback, coaching or emotional agility. In addition, managers have access to Fifty, a cutting-edge digital tool focused on “eDoing”, to help them integrate new managerial practices into the flow of their daily work, and got the opportunity to attend “Supporting teams’ wellbeing” workshops facilitated by the Wellbeing Project.

KEY FIGURES

1. 200 managers took part in the Manager Programme to date

2. Partnerships with eDoing platform Fifty and the Wellbeing Project

From on-the-job training for new hires to company-wide learning events and tailored programmes to support career transitions, URW empowers all staff to pursue lifelong learning and development. This is how we ensure our teams have the skills and confidence to tackle the challenges of the future, and the drive to pursue our mission to create sustainable spaces that Reinvent Being Together.

Our learning commitments contribute to encouraging job evolutions and internal mobility, as well as empowering women to reach senior management positions.

1. 270 employees were promoted and 140+ changed scope or role in the first half of 2023

2. 39% of senior management positions occupied by women at end 2022