Category Skills

From completion to capability: Making skills visible where it matters

Completed

Completion rates look reassuring, but they hide whether people can actually perform. Leonidas Palaiokostas argues organisations face a skills visibility gap, leading to wasted hiring and underused talent. Leonidas shares four capability signals and shifts: verify skills in real work,…

Read MoreFrom completion to capability: Making skills visible where it matters

The generation we can’t afford to lose

Young people hiding faces behind the word 'Future' - Concerns and prospects for new generations - Concept of youth questioning their future.

With youth unemployment at its highest since 2014 and junior roles drawing 100+ applicants, employers can’t afford to pass on. Giles Smith argues we’re debating costs while the education-to-work system fails a generation. The answer is redesigning organisations for an…

Read MoreThe generation we can’t afford to lose

The leaking talent pipeline: How AI is quietly undermining leadership succession

Succession Plan symbol. Wooden blocks with words Succession Plan. Beautiful blue background with alarm clock. Business and Succession Plan concept. Copy space.

AI is speeding up work while quietly eroding the early-career experiences that shape future leaders. As entry-level roles decline, judgement, emotional intelligence and organisational fluency have fewer places to form. Leena Rinne argues succession strength must be measured in capability,…

Read MoreThe leaking talent pipeline: How AI is quietly undermining leadership succession

Training cuts are widening the AI skills gap for jobseekers and workers

Disruption warning future of work, featuring AI agents replacing human jobs. Represents labor unemployment, corporate automation cost shift, and need for new career reskilling and upskilling. Corpus

The AI boom is raising the bar for entry-level work while many employers cut their training offerings. Jonny Phillips makes the case for a national skills guarantee so people can build baseline AI capability and confidence. Practical, relevant support helps…

Read MoreTraining cuts are widening the AI skills gap for jobseekers and workers

Conference overload? Why L&D events need creative reflection

TJ 60 conference creative session (C) AMC Newton

Conference days can feel like a firehose: keynotes, chats, slides, then a tired journey home and a notebook nobody opens. AMC Newton and Amelia Wakeford show how intentional reflection breaks overload, helping brains consolidate learning. Their Creative Download approach uses…

Read MoreConference overload? Why L&D events need creative reflection

TJ podcast: The rise of the supermanager: Why AI transformation still needs human leadership – episode 330

Julia Bersin joins Jo Cook to explore the rise of the supermanager and why AI transformation still depends on human leadership. As organisations rethink management layers, managers remain critical to trust, experimentation and adoption, helping teams turn AI investment into…

Read MoreTJ podcast: The rise of the supermanager: Why AI transformation still needs human leadership – episode 330

From controller to keyboard: Why gamers are an untapped IT pipeline

Group of friends celebrating victory of asian girl in video game while standing next to her in cybersport club

Could your next cybersecurity analyst be a gamer? Ben Smith explores five gaming-honed strengths, from pattern recognition to resilient problem solving, and shows how L&D can convert them into job-ready capability. Expect practical ideas for onboarding, labs and simulations that…

Read MoreFrom controller to keyboard: Why gamers are an untapped IT pipeline

Smarter skills for a messy world: Why middle managers are the real organisational stabilisers

Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills is shown on the conceptual business photo

Middle managers hold organisations together by translating strategy into everyday decisions, absorbing emotional tension and making meaning when work is messy. These capabilities are too often mislabelled as “soft skills”, leading to underinvestment and burnout. Gary Cookson argues that they…

Read MoreSmarter skills for a messy world: Why middle managers are the real organisational stabilisers

The five power skills that will matter most as AI reshapes work

Digital skills concept. New skill, reskill for digital technology evolution. Soft skill,thinking skill, digital skill.

As AI embeds itself into organisations, the focus shifts to the human capabilities it cannot replace. Nicki Morris explores five priorities for workforce development: AI literacy, clear communication and prompting, reflective critical thinking, emotional and ethical judgement, and creativity. For…

Read MoreThe five power skills that will matter most as AI reshapes work

How smarter training cultures could spark the next wave of productivity

Finance concept.Text Lifelong learning on colorful paper note with calculator and pencil on black background

New research with insights from 2,000 employees shows strong appetite for lifelong learning, yet confidence in emerging skills is fragile and access to practical development tools varies sharply by sector. Emma O’Dell argues employers must move from episodic training to…

Read MoreHow smarter training cultures could spark the next wave of productivity