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Five ways to boost confidence and reduce stress at work
Confidence and stress are not separate tracks at work. This article shows how situational awareness turns confidence into visible behaviours that lower pressure. Five practical moves clarify expectations, ask better questions, build feedback loops, set boundaries and use body language. Anne Maartje Oud links personal habits with culture for performance. “Boost your confidence” and “reduce stress” sound great, but they are often treated as separate goals. That is where the interpretation becomes misleading. Confidence that helps prevent stress is not…
Why people quit e-learning and what to do about it
E-learning completion rates are a symptom, not a learner flaw. When courses feel like early-2000s slide decks, attention evaporates. This article argues better design wins: show value fast, respect time with bite-sized sessions, use narrative, cut friction and drive practical change. Charney Magri makes the case for modern workplaces now. There’s an industry problem embedded in workplace training, with estimates often putting e-learning course completion at just 20-30%. However accurate the number, this translates to millions of people expectantly logging…
Training cuts are widening the AI skills gap for jobseekers and workers
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 candidates apply sooner, interview better, and avoid being left behind. The job market is a vast and complex world that can often be intimidating for those outside of it. The recent AI boom has only made it more challenging for…
Beyond static pages: How PDFs boost engagement and efficiency
PDFs are everywhere at work, but they can also power smarter digital learning. Victoria Ross explores how interactive PDFs support active practice, smoother delivery across devices, faster admin, secure sign-offs and better collaboration. With AI features emerging, PDFs may stay a low-cost, high-impact tool for L&D teams for years ahead. We’re all familiar with PDF files, whether a report, form, or presentation, PDFs are part of nearly every workday. Millions of us rely on them to share and store information.…
Conference overload? Why L&D events need creative reflection
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 calm pauses and hands-on making to turn insights into actions. We’ve all been there: train home from a conference, notebook full of insights, determined to implement everything. Days later, that notebook sits unopened. Weeks later, we struggle to remember what…
Beyond pass rates: Building audit-ready evidence of capability
Online exam analytics can evidence workforce capability, spot skills gaps and support audit-ready decisions. But the insight only holds if secure delivery, consistent conditions and clear governance are in place, says Dr. James Gupta. With the right controls, assessment data becomes a strategic assurance tool for compliance, planning and development. When used properly, online exam analytics can do more than track performance. They can provide sound evidence of workforce capability by identifying skills gaps, monitoring certification compliance and supporting audit-ready…
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 meaningful change rather than another tool-led initiative with limited impact. Key takeaways: Created by ChatpGPT Podcast summary: Created by ChatpGPT Jo Cook speaks with Julia Bersin, Director of Research at The Josh Bersin Company, about the changing role of managers…
From controller to keyboard: Why gamers are an untapped IT pipeline
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 bridge technical gaps and expand pipelines beyond traditional credentials today. Speedrunning Super Mario 64 may not appear on a CV, but the skills developed through modern gaming are increasingly relevant to today’s IT workforce. As organisations face ongoing talent shortages…
Gen Z – rebuilding workplace culture, break by break
We’ve been told that Gen Z are reshaping the workplace, and not always for the better. They’ve been typecast as less focused, more demanding, and more likely to challenge traditional ways of working. Russell Cowley argues that taking proper breaks may be fixing something that the rest of us broke. Across the UK workforce, the lunch break has been in steady decline for years. Various studies consistently show that many employees now take fewer than 30 minutes for lunch, and…
SOFest: A learning festival where everything is an invitation
Kirsty Lewis shares what makes SOFest different, from focused speaker sessions and practical workshops to silent discos, sound baths, business development and creative reflection. With everything framed as an invitation, delegates choose their own route through learning, connection, rest and experimentation. All at this year’s must-attend festival for learning professionals. Learning events can sometimes feel over-designed. Delegates are moved from room to room, sessions are fixed, choices are limited and the day can become something to endure rather than explore.…
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