The latest L&D news, reports, research and updates, personally compiled by TJ’s Editor, Jo Cook. This week: Workers cling to roles as change accelerates, HR still won’t trust AI for people decisions, recruiters face deepfake scams, focus time is shrinking, a leadership podcast returns, and No.10’s growth team needs bolstering.
Teaching employees to use AI could add up to $6.6T to US economy
Augmenting jobs with artificial intelligence and upskilling employees, instead of replacing workers, could add between $4.8 trillion and $6.6 trillion to the U.S. economy by 2034, roughly 15% of current U.S. GDP at the lower range, according to new research from education company Pearson.
However, the report found that while companies were “investing billions worldwide on AI infrastructure and models,” there were “few positive examples of enterprise-level productivity gains, outside of coding, that truly help workers and drive ROI,” per a news release, which added that the return on AI investment usually targets replacing workers.
AI in the C-Suite: confidence vs capability
- Over half of UK tech workers say AI decisions at their company are made by leaders without the right expertise
- 78% of C-suite executives admit to using AI for work they are not trained to do
- 93% of C-level leaders say they have made AI-informed decisions based on inaccurate data, with 40% experiencing serious business impact as a result
Compliance training data still relies on spreadsheets
Many organisations are gradually modernising their compliance and training programmes, though some areas need more focus. Skillcast surveyed over 100 compliance, L&D and training professionals from a diverse range of organisations on the future of compliance.
- 51% don’t use AI tools to support control measures, down 57% in 2025
- High use of Excel spreadsheets to collate compliance data remains, although down from 81% in 2025
- Manual processes are the biggest challenge in meeting compliance goals
Hiring changes to upskilling
Tech hiring is moderating at the beginning of 2026 — not because of a lack of demand, but because employers are reconsidering how they plan to access tech skills, according to Experis’ Tech Talent Outlook report. Tech employers in the U.S. reported Net Employment Outlook being 10-percentage-point decline from last quarter and a 19-point drop year over year, Experis said.
To find the skills they need, employers are instead turning to upskilling and reskilling current employees, though just over a quarter said they aim to target new and underrepresented talent pools. Employers also said they intended to increase pay to remain competitive.
‘Job Hugging’ harms progression prospects
INTOO’s Future World of Work research found that over the last two years, 50% of businesses have undergone significant internal change. Such turnover points to a working environment which is leaving many workers in uncertain positions. INTOO’s data reveals that just 18% of people are looking to change employer in the next 12 months, its lowest mark since it began tracking the data in 2017.
Owen Morgan, Managing Director at outplacement and HR specialist INTOO UK & Ireland says: “But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re safe. It’s a grim reality, but there are redundancies happening at scale in so many industries. If that happens to those who are job hugging, those people may look back with regret that they didn’t seek extra training or undertake a career pivot because they’ve just been focused on holding onto their current role.”
HR professionals say they still don’t trust AI to make workforce decisions
While a vast majority of organisations surveyed said they are embracing artificial intelligence tools and expect to increase their investments, 98% said they do not trust generative AI to make workforce decisions, according to data from Avature.
Of the 180 HR and talent professionals surveyed, 62% said they trust AI to schedule interviews. Generally, respondents were more comfortable assigning AI “repetitive, low-risk tasks,” according to a press release announcing the findings.
Close to half said AI skill shortages will be their top HR challenge, but confidence in forecasting those needs is low, Avature said. Only 11% said they feel “very confident” predicting needs a year from now.
IT expert warns recruiters of deepfake scams amidst Grok AI controversy
As AI continues to develop at pace, new and increasingly malicious uses of the technology are coming to light – in particular, deepfakes, which blur the line between reality and sinister illusion. Rebecca Napier, IT Business Partner at Gi Group, a global leader in HR and recruitment, warns of the serious risks posed for recruitment and HR teams: “HR teams and recruiters need to be alert to this when it comes to matters of the workplace and codes of conduct, as often these issues are much more complex and sensitive than first meets the eye.”
Workers say they only get between 2 and 3 hours of daily focus time
The average worker gets between two and three hours of focus time per day, meaning uninterrupted work periods without meetings, messages or tool switching, according to the Hubstaff 2026 Global Benchmarks Report.
Teams that were either fully in office or fully remote reported the most amount of uninterrupted work, with in-office teams reporting 45% of hours spent in deep focus, and remote teams reporting 41%, per the report. Meanwhile, hybrid work teams reported the least amount of focus time, at just 31% of hours in deep focus. Across all teams, managers and team leaders average only 27% of hours in focus.
Increased meeting volume and poor scheduling are some of the biggest barriers to focus time, Hubstaff said in a release. Report data found that the average person is in twice as many meetings per year compared to two years ago, and typical organisations are now running nearly six times as many meetings.
“Boss Class” podcast on leadership returns for a third season to decode the art of managing in the AI era
The Economist released the third season of “Boss Class”, a limited-series podcast on leadership and management that distils advice and experience from CEOs, academics and other leaders. The series’ six episodes will focus on generative AI at work.
Boss Class is hosted by Andrew Palmer, author of Bartleby, The Economist’s column on work that digs into the latest research and provides advice and solace for managers, as they attempt to understand what makes their workers tick.
UK Prime Minister needs ‘much larger’ economic team in No.10 to deliver growth
he prime minister will need a “much larger” economic team in No.10 for his government to deliver an effective growth strategy, a new report warns. The Institute for Government report, authored by Giles Wilkes, a senior fellow at the think tank, calls for No.10 to have a fully staffed economic function of 20 or more employees helping the prime minister to set the growth strategy.
The report, published in partnership with Imperial College London, says the team should have a variety of skills and backgrounds and should be a mixture of political and official.
Read more on our sister site, Civil Service World.
