The latest L&D news, reports, research and updates, personally compiled by TJ’s Editor, Jo Cook. This week: Entry-level roles demand experience graduates lack. Workers fear AI overuse dulls skills. Compliance hiring surges amid churn and looming AML updates. Gartner predicts career disruption. Plus sci-fi podcast, entrepreneurs reskill, Thailand engagement soars.
In 2026, more HR leaders are focused on training — and not just for AI skills
In HR Dive’s 2026 Identity of HR survey, the number of respondents who named employee training their organisation’s top priority jumped 4 percentage points year over year, from 5% to 9%. While the overall percentage remains small (recovering from a comparatively large drop after 2024), the increase is significant — especially considering artificial intelligence tools are changing how work is done.
51% say using AI has made spontaneous conversation feel more difficult
Preply surveyed over 1,000 U.S. adults on AI and workplace communication. Their research found the role of AI is on track to grow in breadth and scope. But those who succeed in an AI-augmented future will know when to use it, how to edit it, and why the best course of action may be to turn off your screen and have a real conversation.
- 63% of workers say they have used AI to avoid a difficult conversation at work
- More than half (51%) say using AI has made spontaneous conversation feel more difficult, rising to 66% among Gen Z
- 44% say they sometimes freeze up in in-person conversations because they can’t review or edit their words first
One in four UK businesses turns to freelancers and contractors
Workers looking for the security of a permanent job may face a tougher employment market, as new YouGov data commissioned by Employment Hero, the AI-powered employment platform, shows 39% of UK businesses have reduced full-time recruitment while a quarter say they are hiring more freelancers and contractors.
Against a backdrop of rising unemployment, the findings suggest the UK jobs market is changing in a way that could reshape how people find work, build experience and plan their careers. The research, based on a survey of more than 1,000 UK business leaders, found that full-time employment costs have risen by almost 10% in the past year. At the same time, a quarter of businesses (25%) say they are hiring more freelancers and contractors, and plan to continue doing so.
L&D Free Spirits Invites Freelancers to Share Insights in 2026 Survey
L&D Free Spirits launches Freelancer Insight Survey for the third year running, continuing to support members and the People Development community. In June 2024, prior to launching the Free Spirits’ membership offering in September, Founder Kim Ellis ran an insights survey to better understand the challenges freelancers faced.
25 small business owners and self-employed individuals across Learning, Training and People Development took part. The results offered early direction: what was working, what wasn’t, and how Free Spirits could help members.
‘Entry-level’ jobs reject 1 in 3 UK graduates for lacking experience
UK graduates continue to face one of the toughest entry-level markets in years, with more than a third (37%) of so-called entry-level jobs advertised now requiring prior work experience.
New research from Careerminds UK found that these jobs required an average of two-and-a-half years’ experience, creating a catch-22 scenario where graduates are ultimately unable to build the experience required even for starter roles.
As a result, one in three (33%) applicants were rejected specifically because they lacked sufficient experience, with one in five (20%) now ruling themselves out before even applying because of these experience demands.
Amid heavy AI use, workers say their skills are atrophying
Workplace dependence on artificial intelligence has become increasingly widespread, with half of employees saying they depended too heavily on the technology, and just under a third saying they couldn’t function without it, according to a new survey from IT firm GoTo.
Overdependence on AI has caused problems at work, with 39% of all workers and 46% of Generation Z saying their reliance on AI has weakened their skill sets and made them less intelligent. However, 60% of employees said they felt pressured to use AI to increase productivity.
When companies demand AI proficiency without providing the necessary training or effective policies to control its usage, misuse and workslop become more common, said report authors. Almost one in four IT leaders reported that AI-related mistakes “have already affected customers, clients, or their company’s bottom line.”
Everything, everywhere is compliance
Today, there are more than 400,000 compliance officers employed across the United States, representing over $40 billion in annual labour spend (with many billions more in compliance-related consulting and outsourcing jobs).
Yet despite this demand, the talent pipeline for compliance remains strained. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects 33,300+ compliance openings annually over the next decade – a demand made more acute by an industry where 87% of entrants eventually leave the field and annual churn exceeds 20%, leaving organisations in a near-constant cycle of recruiting and losing expertise.
AI is ‘going to break down millions of careers,’ Gartner analyst says
As soon as 2028, artificial intelligence may begin creating more jobs than it eliminates, according to recent research from advisory firm Gartner. As companies continue to harness the capabilities of AI in the workplace, it will become increasingly important for HR leaders to move away from experience-based advancement toward a more skill-centric approach, Gartner said. Otherwise, organisations risk derailing the careers of their existing employees.
“AI is ultimately going to result in more job gains than losses, but in the process it’s going to break down millions of careers,” Kaelyn Lowmaster, director analyst in Gartner’s HR practice, said in a statement.
A new podcast from the Learning Hack explores how science fiction made the modern world
The Tech Imaginarium, hosted by L&D broadcaster John Helmer with co-host and subject expert Ezri Carlebach, takes its first season on a six-episode tour through the ideas, inventions and imaginings that turned speculative fiction into technological reality. From Isaac Asimov’s laws of robotics to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; from Hugo Gernsback’s pulp dreams to artificial intelligence — the series argues that science, technology and imagination are constantly feeding each other.
Nearly six in 10 firms unprepared for incoming anti-money launder regulation changes, VinciWorks finds
More than half of regulated firms have yet to prepare for incoming changes to money laundering regulations expected to come into force later this summer, according to research from VinciWorks.
A survey of 334 compliance professionals across the legal, financial services and accounting sectors found that 57% of firms have either not started preparing for the 2026 amendments to the Money Laundering Regulations or are unsure of their current position. Just 4% said new policies were already in place.
Entrepreneurs tighten focus on disciplined growth, EY-Parthenon study finds
Entrepreneurs are reshaping their growth strategies as prospect of higher interest rates make funding harder to secure and talent more challenging to access. New EY-Parthenon research shows that while ambition remains a driver for most founders, they are being more careful about how and where they invest.
Building the right skills remains a challenge. Entrepreneurs are more likely than large companies to face shortages in AI and data expertise, while also having smaller teams and fewer layers of support.
As a result, many founders are responding by retraining existing staff, hiring specialist talent and redesigning roles to make better use of technology. Forty-six percent of entrepreneurs surveyed responded that reskilling and upskilling of existing employees is driving their workforce strategy and 41% are redesigning roles to combine human and AI capabilities.
Thailand’s worker engagement doubles in a decade: Gallup
Employee engagement in Thailand has more than doubled over the past decade, reaching 34% in 2025 — up from just 14% in 2012 — according to Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace report.
That growth is the largest in Southeast Asia and ranks among the top five engagement gains of any country in the world since 2014.
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