The latest L&D news, reports, research and updates, personally compiled by TJ’s Editor, Jo Cook. This week: From AI burnout to a brewing skills standoff, the paradoxical 2026 workforce: hiring is slowing, yet the need for specialised and adaptable talent is surging. We unpack the data shaping tomorrow’s talent strategies.
2025 workforce trends: overall growth is cooling, but demand for specialised talent remains hot
Addison Group, a national leader in talent solutions and consulting services, has published its 2026 Workforce Planning Guide, a compilation of labour market data and trends gathered by recruitment and retention experts at Addison Group. This guide is a trusted resource that delivers the insights and data employers need to attract and keep top talent in a rapidly evolving market.
- Labor market trends: 2025 workforce trends highlighted the paradox of today’s market: overall growth is cooling, but demand for specialized talent remains hot.
- A tempered economic outlook: Numerous factors, including economic uncertainty, will shape the labour market in 2026. To stay competitive, employers must adapt quickly and rethink their talent acquisition and retention strategies in this fast-changing environment.
- Skills-first recruitment: Employers are increasingly prioritizing skills over degrees. While this approach widens access to talent, it requires companies to strengthen their evaluation methods.
A skills standoff is brewing, report says
A “silent standoff” is brewing between workers and employers over skills development that may worsen skill gaps if not addressed, according to a Sept. 23 report from DeVry University.
The troublesome dynamic has formed between workers’ perceptions of their abilities and employers’ requested qualifications, the report said. While 85% of workers surveyed said they feel confident their skills will keep them employable in the next five years, 69% of employers said they worry their workforce lacks the skills they need for future change.
Adaptability tops the C-suite agenda as HR leaders brace for unprecedented workplace change, BIE report finds
BIE, the executive recruitment firm, today publishes its Transformational Leadership Survey2026, bringing together insights from more than 800 UK-based senior leaders. The report reveals that businesses are entering a period of unprecedented change, with transformation now viewed as inevitable-and leadership adaptability, digital fluency, and AI execution emerging as the defining factors for success.
According to the research, 87% of leaders (and 93% of CEOs) believe the rate and scale of transformation will increase in the next five years. Almost three-quarters (73%) identify AI as the leading area of focus for transformation programmes, a sharp rise from 53% in 2024.
Devstark: New study on how AI is saving thousands of HR hours
Today, HR teams face talent shortages, increased hiring costs, and rising employee turnover rates. Routine tasks also consume a significant portion of their time, leaving less focus on strategic work. This makes the need for effective, scalable solutions more urgent than ever.
The studies describe and analyse how companies using AI for recruiting, onboarding, and employee support experience a 63% increase in HR productivity, automation of approximately 55% of repetitive HR tasks, and an overall 52% improvement in HR function efficiency.
Frontline workers who use AI the most are burned out the least
Frontline workers who use AI on the job are less likely to report being burned out, according to a 10-country global study of 8,200 frontline employees by UKG, a leading global AI platform for HR, pay, and workforce management. Frontline workers — those who must be present to do their jobs to build products or serve customers, patients, students, or residents — make up nearly 80% of the global workforce. Burnout rates for these critical workers have remained steady since a 2024 UKG study, with 76% reporting burnout today.
Yet, there’s hope: More than 1 in 3 frontline workers say they use AI in their roles today, and those who are using AI report far lower burnout rates (41%) than those not using the technology (54%).
Corporate leaders are increasingly upskilling for AI, but major skills gaps remain, research finds
Most leaders (62%) have attended an AI training, up from 42% in 2024, a new report from General Assembly finds. However, less than half (47%) say their companies offer leadership-specific AI training and most report that their companies only offer employees occasional AI training or no AI training (31%).
For leaders not using AI, the top reason is that it is not a leadership priority (28%), while 22% say their current workflows are sufficient and 18% say they don’t have the skills to implement and use AI.
In an uncertain world, reputation and values matter
In a climate of economic and social uncertainty, job security remains the key factor people look for in the workplace, but reputation and values still play a significant role in attracting and keeping talent. Eight in ten office workers say their employer’s reputation was an important factor in their decision to take a job, according to new research.
The 2025 Work Remastered study from United Culture, a specialist in company culture, employee engagement and behavioural change, surveyed 1,500 employed adults across the UK, US and Western Europe.
The three cs: Employees demand calm, comfort, and customisation… But offices aren’t delivering
After five years of debating where people should work, employees have a clear message: it’s time for employers to get the basics right. According to the latest global survey from leading workplace creation firm Unispace , workers are clear on what they need: less noise and distraction, with 75% saying these hinder performance, and more spaces designed around calm, comfort, and customization. Yet 1 in 4 say their workplace isn’t comfortable, and over a fifth (21%) report their space doesn’t support their role.
The Unispace study, A Moment of Clarity – a survey of full-time employees across 14 markets – finds that employees are ready to perform, but workplaces are still holding them back.
From skills to growth: A plan for digital badging in the UK
The Digital Badging Commission has brought together leading experts from across higher and further education, commerce and technology to broaden the understanding, development and adoption of digital badges and credentials.
The report makes the case for change; outlining a route from skills to growth with a simpler, more transparent way of recognising skills through trusted digital badges.
