The latest L&D news, reports, research and updates, personally compiled by TJ’s Editor, Jo Cook. This week: Why emotion is the missing ingredient in service design, what’s shifting in the learning systems market, how success is stressing people out, and why talent strategies must change as AI literacy becomes baseline.
Workers say they want learning. Why is engagement low when it’s offered?
Employers create learning opportunities in response to worker demand — but when the programs are presented, uptake tends to be low, various studies show.
In a 2024 report that included surveys of front-line workers, Schoox found that only 24% said they strongly agree that they have the right amounts of training they need to succeed at work, and 40% said they’re not completely sure what’s expected of them at work. While that survey focused on front-line workers, Moran said it’s a problem for corporate workers too.
99% of firms say they’re building AI skills – but most employees aren’t being trained
While 88% of senior executives view AI as a source of competitive advantage, just 4% have successfully translated AI initiatives into repeatable, scalable business value, according to new research from Economist Impact.
Based on surveys and expert interviews with senior executives across London, New York, Tokyo, Sydney, and Singapore, the study reveals a widening gap between AI ambition and workforce readiness. The report, From Intent to Action: The Leaders’ Guide to Building AI-Powered Workplaces—an independent study conducted by Economist Impact and supported by Kyocera Document Solutions, a leading provider of total document solutions—reveals how a disconnect between strategy and execution is preventing organisations from realising AI’s full potential.
64% of finance leaders work weekends due to inefficient systems
Almost every finance leader in the UK and Ireland is working evenings or weekends to stay on top of their workload, and for 64%, this is a regular occurrence. That is the finding of AccountsIQ’s latest CFO Mindset report, based on a survey of 1,000 senior finance professionals, which points to inefficient and poorly matched finance systems as the driving force behind the profession’s chronic overwork. A previous survey conducted in 2024 found that 85% of finance leaders needed an extra one to two days per week just to stay on top of their backlog.
The financial implications of this unpaid time are significant. A finance professional on £60,000 a year working eight to ten unpaid hours weekly is effectively contributing £15,000 of overtime annually. For a team of ten, that amounts to £150,000 in unpaid labour every year.
Ethical concerns lead to 250% increase in demand for responsible AI use training
Compliance training provider Skillcast has reported a 250% increase in interest in its Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence training course over the last month, highlighting a clear workforce concern about ensuring they use AI correctly.
The spike comes amid growing scrutiny of unfiltered AI models, placing corporate boards under mounting pressure to unlock AI’s commercial potential without breaching fast-evolving ethical and regulatory boundaries.
Systems risk failure when emotion is left out of design
Emotional states of users have emerged as the most overlooked, yet most critical, factor in service design, according to new global research from Wipro’s experience innovation company, Designit.
Over a third (35%) of global design and experience professionals surveyed said emotional states are the most ignored aspect of service design, followed by invisible failure points (33%). Cross-channel consistency ranked lower at 21%, while just 10% pointed to execution incentives.
Learning landscape market remains competitive
The Fosway 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems shows that the learning landscape is being reshaped by continuing political and economic uncertainty, but the market remains competitive. Upskilling and AI take centre stage as top priorities this coming year, but questions linger about AI’s disruptive potential and its actual timeline for impact. While the LXP fades as a category, the need for a better learning experience comes into focus
The pursuit of success: Are we living the dream (or still dreaming about it?)
Some 81% of people feel behind others their age in at least one area of their lives. However, 77% still consider themselves to be successful.
Success statistics show 44% have given up their free time chasing goals, 37% have sacrificed sleep, and 37% have neglected their mental health. Likewise, 37% have also gone against their personal values.
Some 60% trust their own judgment most when making major life decisions, while 51% turn to AI tools, with 26% going against their gut to follow its advice.
83% of tech recruiters believe company success is more dependent on upskilling employees for AI versus hiring new talent, according to The State of Tech Talent 2026
Nearly all technology recruiters (96%) say technical roles are still at least a bit difficult to fill, as most (83%) believe their company’s success is now more dependent on upskilling their existing employees for AI rather than hiring external talent, according to The State of Tech Talent 2026, the fourth annual report from AI training provider General Assembly, an LHH brand.
Leaders say AI skills now are as fundamental as the ability to write
Data and artificial intelligence literacy skills are no longer considered specialised, a new report concluded, and instead have “crossed a critical threshold” as something widely expected in the workplace.
Nearly 9 in 10 leaders surveyed rated basic data literacy skills as either important or very important, and a similar percentage said the same of a worker’s ability to write, according to the 2026 State of Data & AI Literacy Report, released Thursday by DataCamp, a platform for data and AI skill building.
Workforce strategies are designed for ‘a world that no longer exists,’ study says
Aging populations, declining fertility rates and decreased immigration are creating global labour shortages — and traditional workforce strategies “are designed for a world that no longer exists,” according to Fault Lines, a report from labour market intelligence company Lightcast.
Employers are creating artificial barriers to employment even as the world is running out of workers, Lightcast said. For example, 66% of job postings globally require a university degree, while only 31% of workers have one, per the report.
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