The latest L&D news, reports, research and updates, personally compiled by TJ’s Editor, Jo Cook. This week: Explore free tools for neuro-inclusion and menopause support, read about career regrets, office noise losses, redundancy as a brand-builder, neurodivergent entrepreneurs’ growth potential, apprenticeships info gaps, cognitive load creep and more for L&D.
5 trends shaping skills development
To face the changing future of work, employers may need to redouble their efforts to address skills gaps, according to a report from CompTIA, an IT training and certification vendor. More than 1,000 HR, learning and development, and IT professionals were surveyed for the report; of the HR and IT leaders surveyed, 83% said that skills improvement is “imperative” within their organisations.
- Building skills is a top priority
- AI is not the only skills gap
- Productivity drives development
The Automation Anxiety Report
AI is creating the next wave of workforce disruption. The Automation Anxiety Report™ 2026, based on a national survey of 1,500 US full-time employed adults, finds that the disruption is not only operational. It is a credibility crisis. Workers expect AI to reshape their jobs but do not feel fully prepared for it.
In response, they are overstating their capabilities, while simultaneously resisting the AI adoption their employers are paying for. Employers, in turn, lack consistent ways to verify the new category of skill claim now appearing on resumes and in workplaces. The result is a growing gap between perceived and actual capability, with measurable risk for both employees and organisations.
CLO100 Launches Annual L&D Leader Benchmark Survey
CLO100 has announced the launch of its Annual L&D Leader Benchmark Survey. Designed specifically for Learning and Development professionals, this landmark initiative aims to solve a long-standing challenge in the industry: the lack of clear, honest, and accessible benchmarking data.
For years, L&D leaders have faced the same recurring questions from executive boards and internal teams without having robust data to back up their answers:
- What does an L&D leader typically earn?
- How big are most L&D teams relative to organisation size?
- What does an average L&D budget actually look like today?
The CLO100 Annual L&D Leader Benchmark Survey was built to finally paint an accurate picture of where the profession stands, empowering leaders with the insights they need to advocate for their departments.
HR leaders overestimate trust as employees cover themselves and stay silent
New Investors in People research suggests organisations may be measuring belief in trust rather than the everyday behaviours that show whether employees feel able to speak up, admit mistakes and raise concerns early.
- 61% of employees regularly “cover themselves” at work, for example by keeping emails or screenshots
- 65% have avoided raising or speaking openly about something at work in the past six months
- 49% of HR leaders say employees raise issues early when things go wrong, yet 25% of employees say they would try to fix a mistake or problem quietly before telling anyone
- One in five employees say trust depends heavily on who their manager is
Launch of free neurohub platform for businesses will help create more neurodiversity-friendly workplaces
Companies looking to create more inclusive, neurodiversity-informed workplaces can now access a free digital platform that will help them better support employees with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia and other neurodifferent profiles. Cambridge-based neurobox has launched neurohub for business – a comprehensive online tool that makes it easier for HR teams and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) Managers to implement and manage employee support; organise workplace needs assessments; and measure the impact of adjustments on staff and operational performance.
With an estimated one in five people thought to be neurodivergent, organisations are increasingly recognising neuroinclusion as both a workplace responsibility and a strategic business opportunity. However, building neuroinclusive workplaces has traditionally been complex, fragmented, and difficult to sustain. Many businesses lack the tools, training and centralised support needed to embed meaningful neuroinclusion and support neurodivergent employees consistently.
UK’s first evidence-based menopause workplace toolkit launches to help employers better support women at work
A new free online resource will help employers across the UK respond more effectively to menopause in the workplace, boosting retention, improving wellbeing and helping to build more inclusive workplace cultures.
In partnership with Lancaster University, Wellbeing of Women have launched MENO-Kit, the UK’s first evidence-based menopause workplace toolkit, which translates more than a decade of academic research into practical, accessible guidance for employers.
Designed to support whole organisations, MENO-Kit is a multimedia resource for managers, HR and Occupational Health teams, EDI leads, trade unions and employees. It includes four practical modules covering menopause awareness, symptom management, menopause champion training and cognitive behavioural strategies.
Career regrets? Most workers have a few, survey shows
Nearly everyone has a regrettable decision or a past inaction in their working lives that lingers in their memory. From worrying about things that they may have said or done to a lost friendship, or unfulfilled job aspirations. These are just some of the many regrets voiced by UK workers in new research commissioned by integrated HR and payroll software provider Ciphr.
Nearly four in five (79%) employees say they have regrets about a career choice or a decision they’ve made at work. People mid-way into their career, aged 35-44 years old, are the most likely to report having work-related regrets (87%). This compares to 82% of workers under 35 and 75% of those aged over 45. Only 21% of the 2,000 UK workers polled those surveyed didn’t have any regrets.
Noisy offices could be costing UK employers over £40bn a year as graduates reject open-plan Britain
Britain’s offices are out of step with the workforce about to enter them. New research from Oscar Acoustics, Great Britain’s leading specialists in architectural acoustic finishes, reveals that workers lose 26 minutes of productive time each day to office noise, more than three working weeks a year. Three in five (61%) work from home specifically to escape it, and nearly half (45%) would consider leaving their job because of it.
As a result, two-thirds of under-25s describe their workplace as noisy, compared to fewer than half of over-55s, pointing to a generational divide in expectations as around 400,000 graduates (HESA, 2024/25) prepare to enter the British workforce this summer.
When handled well redundancy can build advocacy
New data from Right Management reveals redundancy has the potential to enhance employer reputation. The data shows that 43% of employees feel more negative about their employer following redundancy, yet 39% report feeling more positive – highlighting the potential for redundancy to define an organisation’s brand.
While poorly managed workforce reductions continue to damage employer brands, the findings from Right Management reveal a more nuanced picture: when handled well, redundancy can strengthen how employees feel about their organisation.
Report highlights ‘significant economic potential and growth ambitions’ of neurodivergent entrepreneurs
Highly ambitious neurodivergent entrepreneurs have the potential to drive huge economic growth but are let down by systems which fail to consider their needs from the start, according to the findings of a new report into neurodivergent entrepreneurship from Small Business Britain, backed by Lloyds and eBay.
More than three quarters (76%) of those surveyed went into business to be able to work more flexibly and in ways in keeping with their needs. More than half (53%) reported that difficulties fitting into traditional workplaces pushed them into business ownership but tailored advice was shown to be scarce, with more than half of respondents saying they struggled to find neurodivergent-accessible support.
Parents back apprenticeships – but lack of clear information is holding them back
A new survey from apprenticeship training provider, Lifetime, has revealed a major disconnect in how UK parents view apprenticeships. While there is strong support for vocational routes, this is undermined by a lack of clear, accessible information.
While over half (51%) of 1,000 parents surveyed view apprenticeships and university as equally viable routes, the findings show that many parents still lack confidence in them to provide long-term job security for their children.
The research found that only one in four (40%) of parents strongly believe apprenticeships can lead to management positions, highlighting a lack of conviction in their long-term career potential. The findings come at a critical moment for the UK skills agenda.
Is your productivity strategy quietly increasing cognitive load across your workforce?
Cognitive load workplace productivity has become the hidden variable in digital transformation. Organisations add copilots, automation, knowledge tools, and new collaboration features to save time. Yet employees often feel more mentally drained, not less. The reason is simple: each new tool, prompt, alert, decision, and handoff adds micro-friction. Over time, that friction compounds into digital workplace complexity that quietly reduces focus, accuracy, and execution quality.
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