In his opening address at the conference organized by the Macedonian Human Resources Association (MHRA), held under the motto "Under the HR Hat: Modeling Change to Value," the President of the Economic Chamber, Branko Azeski, underscored the vital importance of investing in company personnel and the imperative of lifelong learning.

Addressing the audience—comprising primarily human resources practitioners from the corporate sector—he noted that people are the ones responsible for generating growth, not the walls surrounding them. For that very reason, corporate investments must target human capital and lifelong learning models, as changes are unfolding at immense speed. For me, Azeski noted, a continuous and ongoing education is a baseline requirement for being part of society. The rest is simply lifelong learning—constant learning, learning, and learning. Only those companies committed to lifelong learning will forge ahead. The guiding priority of our activities remains education tailored to the demands and requirements of business growth.

The President of the Economic Chamber stated: We have passed through the first, second, and third industrial revolutions, and now we have entered the latest one. What is it about, what is its concept, and what is the core of this latest industrial revolution? It is a revolution centered on artificial intelligence, which since 2023 has found mass application across all spheres of life. If we wish to accomplish something meaningful, several elements are essential: a clear goal intelligible to all of us; people capable of delivering on that goal; and capital, because without financial resources, we can achieve nothing.

This year, MHRA marks its eighteenth anniversary, and as an event reaching its maturity, it poses the central question: not merely what is changing in HR, but crucially, how HR can actively model change and generate value from it.

Against a backdrop of talent shortages, accelerated digitalization, and the evolution of artificial intelligence, this is no longer a question for the future, but a reality organizations are already confronting, stated MHRA President Darko Petrovski at the outset.

The challenge is no longer merely how HR supports organizational transformation, but how it helps convert those changes into measurable value for both people and the business.

This year, the conference once again united HR professionals, corporate executives, experts, academic figures, and other practitioners actively shaping the future of work. Particular focus was placed on practical methodologies designed to assist organizations in planning and cultivating human capital, upgrading their HR processes, and leveraging technology as an enabler rather than a substitute for the human element.

Featured speakers at the conference included Adam Kostis, Partner and Associate Director at Boston Consulting Group; Annamária Nagy, HR Lead at The Magnum Ice Cream Company; Mersiha Mima Mehić, Chief Executive Officer at Alma Career BH; alongside other established international and local HR and business leaders.