Opinion
Winning buy-in: Why L&D leaders need sharper communication
L&D leaders face budgets, hybrid distraction and sceptical audiences, so influencing matters more than ever. Isobel Rimmer argues presentation and communication skills are a strategic capability for every leader, not just sales. She shares tools, from audience outcomes to an ABCD structure and storytelling, to build confidence and win buy-in. It’s tough being a leader in learning and development, and it’s getting tougher. How do you influence sponsors to fund development when budgets are squeezed? Persuade employees to embrace training,…
Why competency frameworks hit a ceiling for development
Ben Satchwell explains why competency frameworks can support development only within the boundaries of current role performance, because they were built for assurance and consistency. Ben contrasts this with capability frameworks, designed for future readiness, and argue the strongest approach is to connect both: competencies evidence mastery, capabilities guide growth. This is the second article in a three-part series examining the evolving relationship between competence and capability frameworks – and how each supports performance, development and strategy. Part one was…
Into the unknown: Why 2026 marks a turning point for L&D
Donald H Taylor shares insight from his 2026 L&D Global Sentiment Survey, which shows a profession leaving familiar patterns behind. AI is foundational but no longer the only story, as budgets tighten and value demands intensify. Yet practitioners are acting: embedding AI, using data, redesigning learning, and redefining L&D’s role. The 2026 L&D Global Sentiment Survey (GSS) may prove to be the most significant in its thirteen-year history – not because it signals a single dominant trend, but because it…
Stop calling everything a skill
Ben Satchwell argues that muddled language is undermining people frameworks, HR systems and L&D credibility, especially as skills data becomes machine-readable. Ben clarifies the building blocks from knowledge to behaviour, explains why competencies evidence individual performance while capabilities describe systemic potential, and shows how aligning both creates readiness without duplication. This article is the first in a three-part series exploring how organisations can clarify, connect and modernise their use of competence, capability and skills frameworks. There’s a quiet crisis of…
Contribution without collapse: Unlocking unique impact beyond job titles
Drawing on two Make Your Brain Work Podcast episodes, applied neuroscience expert Amy Brann and medical doctor Dr Jessie Gulsin unpack why contribution boosts motivation yet can become risky when fused with your identity. The piece offers practical tips for L&D to build sustainable engagement, resilience and wellbeing without burnout. In many organisations, contribution and identity have become tightly intertwined. We are encouraged to “bring our whole selves to work” yet quietly warned not to burn out. Two recent podcasts,…
Designing learning for a world that does not sit still
Steve George explores why L&D struggles when work shifts faster than programmes can adapt. He highlights cognitive agility and unlearning as essential performance enablers, offering practical design ideas including messy scenarios, changing case studies, and shorter learning cycles. All to build reflection into daily work and strengthen resilience amid uncertainty. Imagine rolling out a carefully planned learning programme, only to find that halfway through, priorities have shifted and the roles it supports no longer look the same. At a recent…
Practice makes profitable: How immersive AI roleplay drives productivity, ROI and lasting skill transfer
Most training fails because learners do not practise enough to turn insight into habit. Doug Stephen explains how immersive, AI-mediated roleplay enables realistic, psychologically safe repetition with immediate feedback, spaced over time and tied to business metrics. The result is faster proficiency, better transfer and clearer ROI without heroic analytics. The uncomfortable truth about most corporate training is that people don’t get enough repetitions to make it a new habit. We ask a new manager to navigate a high stakes…
AI isn’t the threat to Jobs. The real risk is the UK not embracing AI Skills
We know that AI is already reshaping how we learn, work, and adapt. The danger for L&D is choosing to stand still. Giles Smith explores how personalised, contextualised learning can close skills gaps, support educators, and help businesses turn training into growth, boosting opportunity and resilience for a better future. AI has quietly taken over my daily life. It’s woven itself into my routines so seamlessly that I barely noticed, until I realised how much I rely on it. I…
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, and building learning cultures that actually stick in modern organisations. In many organisations, learning and development begins only after a person has signed a contract. By that point, L&D teams inherit a challenge they did not create: they are asked…
From training to transfer: Why capability breaks when workers move
As workforces grow more mobile across the Gulf states, learning systems struggle to keep up. People carry skills from site to site, but proof of capability often gets lost along the way. For L&D professionals supporting Gulf-facing or cross-border teams, Vardhan Kapoor and Shubham Choudhary share some handy practical solutions Picture the scene: a technician completes safety training; an operator renews a licence a supervisor signs off competence. Then the worker changes site, employer or project, and suddenly none of it seems to count. For L&D teams supporting Gulf-facing or cross-border workforces, this…
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