Independent Professionals
The Training Officer August 1968
To mark its 60th year, TJ revisits the earliest edition in the archives, a magazine that shaped the early training profession. With striking parallels to today’s challenges, the issue tackled assessment reform, human skills, community and more. The values of evidence, critique and collaboration still resonate across learning and development. Published as the “Official Journal of the Institution of Training Officers,” this archive magazine captured a profession defining itself in the wake of the Industrial Training Act. Its mix of…
The AI acceleration of careers: Why the next generation of managers will arrive sooner than we think
AI is transforming early careers, not by eliminating them, but by accelerating them. John Schneider explores how companies like PwC are rethinking onboarding and leadership development, equipping new hires to supervise AI from day one. The challenge? Ensuring tomorrow’s leaders don’t miss the vital learning today’s grunt work once offered. There’s a common refrain in conversations about AI and the workforce: Entry-level jobs are disappearing. If AI can take over the repetitive tasks that have traditionally been the proving ground…
The next five years in L&D will change everything
L&D is undergoing its biggest shift in decades. At World of Learning 2025, 17 experts shared bold, insightful answers on what’s coming next. From AI to skills strategies and culture shifts, Kirstie Greany explores what the profession must prioritise to stay human, strategic and impactful over the next five years. Learning and development as an industry is at a turning point, a tipping point, or is that an inflection point? If the conversations at this year’s World of Learning Conference…
We don’t need more learning, we need more practice
Why capability demands rehearsal, not just retention: Practice builds capability, but it’s still missing from much of workplace learning. Helen Routledge argues that L&D has become too focused on content delivery, overlooking the psychological realities of how people truly learn. Without meaningful rehearsal, learning won’t stick, and performance won’t follow. Most workplace learning still follows a simple formula: deliver content, test recall, tick the completion box. But as the demands on employees shift and the pace of change accelerates, L&D…
Trust, talent and the tightrope of skip-level leadership
Srideep Sarkar explores the complex, often overlooked role of skip-level managers. Far from being passive observers, they must balance influence with restraint, strategy with empathy. From avoiding the saviour complex to nurturing talent indirectly, this is a guide to leading large teams without weakening leadership layers that hold them together. The Boston Consulting Group report The End of Management as We Know It indicates that just 9% of Western non-managers aspire to become a manager and 81% managers think the job…
How AI is transforming whistleblower culture at work
Shannon Walker explores how AI-powered whistleblowing platforms can close the trust gap in traditional reporting systems. With L&D professionals playing a key role in enabling psychological safety, these digital tools offer smarter, more confidential ways to speak up—transforming how organisations address misconduct and build cultures of transparency and accountability. Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising how organisations handle whistleblowing. That’s because as businesses strive to create environments where employees feel psychologically safe, traditional reporting systems often fall short. Learning and development…
Beyond skills: How Baringa built a coaching-powered leadership culture
Lee Robertson explores how a consultancy invested in coaching for a core leadership capability, transforming culture, performance and progression. Their collaboration with the AoEC helped embed everyday coaching, reshaping how leaders engage, empower and grow talent. The result? A more human, sustainable and impactful approach to leadership development and business. Baringa Partners has embedded coaching at the heart of its people-first culture, and the management consultancy has created a high-impact development strategy that’s as good for business as it is…
Training Journal announces 60th anniversary conference: empowering L&D to drive meaningful transformation
Training Journal marks 60 years with a one-day conference on Monday 24 November 2025 at the Royal Society of Chemistry, London. Designed for mid-to-senior L&D and HR leaders, the practical programme explores AI as an enabler, measurable impact and cross-functional collaboration. Only 60 tickets available and they are going fast. Training Journal the UK’s independent platform for learning and development professionals, has announced a special TJ 60th Anniversary Conference taking place Monday 24 November 2025 at the Royal Society of…
Spoiler alert: Your conference isn’t about you!
Kim Ellis reflects on the lessons learned from designing and delivering Free Spirits LIVE!, a virtual conference for independent L&D professionals. It wasn’t about flashy tech or speaker line-ups, it was about creating meaningful, human experiences. Here, she shares what made it work and why intention matters more than polish. Have you ever dreamed of putting on your own conference? Maybe seen it as a way to make a chunk of money or raise your profile in the industry? There…
Executive coaching in context: exploring intent, impact and interpretation
Shilpi Sahai examines the complex dynamics executive coaching within organisations through a theoretical lens, exploring its intended and implicit purposes within organisations. Drawing on established frameworks, she highlights the tensions between individual agency and organisational alignment, offering a nuanced perspective on how coaching contributes to leadership, culture and long-term performance. The success of an organisation is often attributed to the quality of its leadership. Coaching, as a process to improve performance, lends itself to harnessing the potential of the individuals.…
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