Here are TJ’s latest selection of research findings, insights and stories for all those working in talent, skills and people development curated by the editor, Debbie Carter

Lack of digital and green skills holds back UK productivity

Investment in skills and businesses is vital if the UK is not to suffer a debilitating brain drain, according to a new report by the UK parliament’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.

The report cited that digital and green skills shortages are a major restraint to the UK’s chronic lack of productivity growth, calling on the government to revive the Green Skills Taskforce. MPs concluded that research and development funding had “fallen behind” competitors’, suggesting the government should work constructively with businesses on developing regulation. 

Work relationships are crucial for successful hybrid working

HubSpot’s 2023 Hybrid Work Report revealed feelings and patterns towards hybrid working and found that 47% of UK talent would choose a four-day work week over a salary increase. Flexibility is high on the list of priorities too with 70% saying flexible start and finish times would improve productivity.

Data showed that employees want investment that fosters a strong culture including engagement and team building events (45%), communication and collaboration tools (36%), diversity, inclusion and belonging (31%) and sustainability (26%).

Putting Principles to Work, from Bottle Bricks to Naughty Barbie

Who says business can’t do good work? Brothers Nachson and Arieh Mimran aim to prove you can through their company Tu.org where they blend investment, philanthropy and creativity to back companies focusing on what the Mimrans have dubbed “vital” issues. 

Princeton-educated Arieh, 27, says. “Today it’s clear that you can make a lot of money while doing a lot of good. And that’s led to a fair amount of greenwashing, impact washing, and purely profit-seeking investors using ESG language as window-dressing. That’s why we are very careful with the language that we use: we only back vital ventures, those that are absolutely necessary.” Read the full story here.

Coventry named top UK city for productivity

With many people remote or hybrid working post pandemic, where we live can also impact how productive we end up being at work too.

A recent study by Currys has ranked 34 UK cities for productivity based on several factors, including download speed, internet outages, access to fast fibre and cost of co-working spaces. The cities were ranked with an overall score out of 40. With a score of 36 Coventry is claimed to be the best city in the UK for productivity, this is due to relatively low coworking costs, and effective coverage of the internet across the city.