Category For HR

“Workplace learning is at its best when it sounds like real work”

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TJ Editor Jo Cook comments about the new Podcast Learning Festival, hosted by Andrew Jacobs in London, February 2026: “We strive for the most efficient and realistic learning interventions, and workplace learning is at its best when it sounds like…

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2026 is the year L&D operationalises AI, without losing the human touch

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In 2026, L&D must embed AI into real workflows, redesign roles and focus on measurable outcomes, without sacrificing trust, culture and wellbeing. Drawing on views from leaders across HR, learning and analytics, TJ’s Editor Jo Cook explores three pressure points:…

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Beyond generative: The leadership playbook for agentic AI learning

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As agentic AI moves to setting goals and acting, workplace learning is shifting into the flow of work. Johnson Wong argues leaders must design AI-enabled workflows, reskill for human oversight, and enable department alignment of IT, operations and the people…

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Is the UK’s “free AI training” platform actually helping your people — or giving leaders false confidence?

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Erica Farmer argues the UK government’s free AI training platform is a useful signal, not a silver bullet. Without learning design, emotional reassurance and workplace context, ‘beginner’ pathways become friction, drop-off and inequality. Erica highlights L&D and HR must build…

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The six biggest challenges keeping L&D professionals up at night

L&D teams are operating in a climate of constant change. Economic pressure, digital acceleration and shifting workforce expectations have placed capability development at the centre of organisational strategy. Yet teams responsible for delivering this capability often face shrinking budgets, rising…

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The Uncertainty Toolkit – book review

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Cathy Hoy investigates why competency-based L&D falls short when uncertainty, not skill, blocks performance. Drawing on Sam Conniff and Katherine Templar Lewis’s new book The Uncertainty Toolkit, she highlights evidence from UCL research, practical exercises and new metrics for tolerance.…

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AI jobs apocalypse… or bonanza?

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Will AI steal our jobs? Wrong question. AI performs tasks and most jobs involve a combination of tasks. The AI impact depends on organisational choices, not just the technology. David Buchanan and Steve Macaulay explore how the outcome for jobs…

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The return of the ‘office first’ culture and what that means for learning

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As organisations shift back to office-first policies, L&D has a critical role to play. Jennie Marshall explores how learning professionals can turn a logistical pivot into a cultural opportunity, redefining connection, trust and inclusion, and ensuring that presence in the…

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How coaches can use AI in practice without becoming “prompt jockeys”

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AI can be genuinely useful in coaching, but only when it serves the craft, not the other way round. The goal is not to turn coaches into people who spend their days iterating prompts. It is to help them do…

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The learning crisis no one wants to trace back to recruitment

AI-polished job applications hide how people really learn. Dmitry Zaytsev talks through hiring using simple games to reveal learning readiness early. Dmitry’s case study shows why behavioural signals like persistence and attention matter more than credentials for talent, L&D, onboarding,…

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