Category Strategy

From learning to earning: A practical framework for skills-based compensation and workforce agility

Learn and Earn Concept with Speech Bubbles on Purple Background

Skills-based pay is gaining traction as organisations seek clearer returns from workplace learning and really embedding this in culture. By linking skill development, assessment and reward, companies can boost motivation, target critical capabilities and strengthen agility. Johnson Wong outlines a…

Read MoreFrom learning to earning: A practical framework for skills-based compensation and workforce agility

L&D’s biggest influence barrier is access to decision-makers

Influence

L&D can’t make impact visible an important from the side-lines. The TJ Readiness Enablers Index shows that the biggest bottleneck to meaningful change is access to decision-makers about strategy, budget and priorities. While L&D has momentum, readiness is inconsistent, and…

Read MoreL&D’s biggest influence barrier is access to decision-makers

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

The execution gap in L&D: Why strategic ambitions are outpacing reality

Reality Check text button on keyboard, concept background

In a world of huge rising demand, reskilling pressure and AI acceleration, L&D keeps saying it must be strategic. But operational data shows execution is where things fail: prioritisation, flow, capacity and measurement. Ryan Austin argues the real shift is…

Read MoreThe execution gap in L&D: Why strategic ambitions are outpacing reality

Skills, not job titles: Rethinking workforce strategy in the AI age

AI vs humans balance concept with artificial intelligence and people on scale, workforce comparison, automation impact, technology vs human labor, future of jobs and productivity

AI is accelerating change, but so many organisations are still built for stability, not speed. Toby Hough argues that shifting from job titles to a skills-first operating models helps businesses see capability, redeploy talent and retain people. With AI powering…

Read MoreSkills, not job titles: Rethinking workforce strategy in the AI age

Culture reset case study: From attrition to high performance

Closeup man picks a wood cube of person icon at the high potential and high performance position of the chart

Growth can create internal “static”, especially in people-first industries where belonging is the product. By building psychological safety, practising radical candour, and shifting to human-centric leadership, teams move from transactional communication to collective responsibility. Fiona Wright outlines how this approach…

Read MoreCulture reset case study: From attrition to high performance

Thinking in Systems – book review

Business concept.Text SYSTEMS THINKING writing on colored tangram on a yellow background.

In her book ‘Thinking in Systems’, Donella Meadows shows why well-meant training often fails when structures, interconnections and purpose stay intact. Drawing on stocks, flows and feedback loops, Houra Amin explores what learning leaders can diagnose before intervening, and how…

Read MoreThinking in Systems – book review

Why skills intelligence is the missing link in workforce planning for the talent crisis

Office, business people and woman with discussion for laptop screen, financial strategy and report. Teamwork, employees and manager in meeting for accounting firm, profit growth and planning by flare

Workforce planning is being rewritten by AI, and old build-or-buy thinking can’t keep up. Ciara Harrington sets out the Four Bs framework, Build, Buy, Borrow and Bot, powered by skills intelligence and skills gap analysis. It helps HR and L&D…

Read MoreWhy skills intelligence is the missing link in workforce planning for the talent crisis

What influence looks like for L&D in 2026

A keyboard with a piece of paper that says Leadership is not position

A new TJ video brings together expert contributor reflections on adaptability, business alignment and intentional boldness in L&D. Drawing on themes from the TJ Influence Report 2026, the discussion explores why learning leaders need to focus less on delivery detail…

Read MoreWhat influence looks like for L&D in 2026

The TJ L&D Influence Report 2026

TJ L&D Influence Report 2026 front cover

After months exploring why L&D’s best evidence and intentions still stall, Editor Jo Cook shares a new report shaped by Training Journal’s 60th Anniversary Conference. It introduces the Readiness Enablers Index and highlights practical conditions like stakeholder access, data, experimentation…

Read MoreThe TJ L&D Influence Report 2026