New to L&D
Compliance, sales, leadership: Where AI makes learning sense
AI is no longer a future-facing experiment for top L&D teams. In this article, RK Prasad explores how smart use of AI can shorten development cycles, tailor learning to different roles, and give employees rapid, in-work support. Done well, it strengthens human judgement, improves reporting, and helps organisations keep pace. Markets shift faster than training calendars. New regulations emerge mid-year. Products evolve quarterly. Skills become outdated almost as soon as they are learned. Yet many L&D teams are still expected…
Women’s voices are being targeted online and event platforms must respond
Women-led online events linked to International Women’s Day were reported to have been disrupted with explicit content and coordinated interference. The abhorrent incidents have sparked calls for stronger platform safeguards and a renewed focus on practical event security, raising wider questions about safety, visibility and participation in professional digital spaces. Online events are now a normal part of working life, but recent attacks on women-led sessions are a reminder that digital participation is still not equally safe for everyone. A…
The five habits of world-class learners
Most people mistake activity for learning, yet those who do it well, treat it as daily discipline. Charlie Curson shares five habits that accelerate growth: curiosity, embracing productive discomfort, reflecting before reacting, learning from diverse voices, and acting fast to turn experimentation into insight and sharper strategic judgement over time. Most of us stopped learning the moment we left school – or so we think. We attend courses, read the odd book and sit through training sessions. But real learning,…
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,…
From vanity metrics to business impact: How L&D can prove its value
If you’re feeling the pressure to prove L&D’s value, you’re in good company. Synergy Learning shares a practical approach to proving impact in business terms. See just how to begin with organisational goals, baseline the right data, choose credible evaluation models, and decide when training isn’t the answer for everything. As we go into the new year, are you feeling mounting pressure to prove the value of learning and development in your organisation? While tracking course completions and training hours…
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…
Starving for questions in the age of instant answers
Gargi Bhatt explores why disciplined questioning is making a comeback as work gets more complex and AI makes quick answers effortless. Drawing on Socratic dialogues, coaching and action learning, she shows how inquiry strengthens critical thinking, surfaces assumptions and builds reflective capacity, helping navigate uncertainty with clarity, curiosity and courage. In a world obsessed with having the answers quick, clear, and confident, there is something quietly revolutionary about not knowing. As organisations grapple with rapid change, complexity, and the uncomfortable…
“Workplace learning is at its best when it sounds like real work”
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 real work: curious, human and specific. The Podcast Learning Festival brings learning and conversation craft into the same room, so we can build audio that travels, lasts, and genuinely changes what happens for people every day at work.” The Podcast…
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 expectations and increasing scrutiny. Totara share a resource to help. A new eBook from Totara, The Six Biggest Challenges Keeping L&D Professionals Up at Night, examines the forces shaping the future of workplace learning. It highlights the tensions many HR…
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