Future of Work
What should HR leaders be looking out for in 2026?
From pay transparency to the right to disconnect, HR leaders face a perfect storm of regulation, technology and rising expectations in 2026. What really matters, what’s overhyped and where should teams focus first? Veronique Lemaire cuts through the noise with practical insight for navigating change without losing people or momentum The future of work is a red-hot topic as the global economy realigns amid developing regulations, rapid technological shifts and changing employee expectations. A third (34%) of jurisdictions predict an uptick in the complexity of HR and payroll services, according to the latest Global Business Complexity Index. This is…
How AI can help save jobs, not eliminate them
Artificial intelligence is already reshaping work, but job losses aren’t inevitable. For L&D and HR leaders, the real challenge is turning disruption into capability at speed. With the right learning strategy, AI can protect roles, close skills gaps and future-proof organisations. Skills expert Robin Adda has the tips you need AI’s presence is ever-growing in the business world, and with it, the uncertainty among the professional community that their roles will become redundant. This stark fact is already becoming apparent, with new research from Adzuna suggesting that new entry-level…
How AI will reset the worker-employer relationship on L&D
AI is quietly rewriting the deal between employers and employees, and L&D sits right at the centre of it. From mindset shifts to self-directed learning, what does this mean in practice? Yomi Tejumola explores how AI is reshaping responsibility, capability and trust at work, and what L&D should do next British businesses spent £53bn on training in 2024. At face value this sounds like a substantial figure, until you realise it’s down nearly one-fifth from 2011 according to government data. Per employee, the decline is even starker. At £1,700…
The HR & L&D trends that will define 2026
Big change is coming for HR and L&D in 2026, and standing still isn’t an option. From AI and skills gaps to retention headaches and hybrid work tensions, what should leaders focus on? Let’s break down the seven trends shaping the year ahead, with practical, no-nonsense guidance from Robin Adda 2026 is already emerging as one of the most pivotal moments for HR and L&D in modern history. Pressures across talent pipelines, ongoing debates on remote work, accelerating AI adoption, widening skills gaps and shifting employee expectations have all been building. “With thoughtful planning and a balanced approach, the pressures…
TJ interviews: Frédéric Hébert on staying skill-ready when everything keeps changing
Jo Cook sits down with Frédéric Hébert, Chief Learning Officer at Rise Up, to dig into what it really takes to stay ahead of rapid skills change. He shares practical examples, fresh thinking and why investing in people, not just technology, matters most for building future-ready teams in the workplace Training Journal: We live in a world where jobs for the youngest generations probably haven’t been thought of yet, and there’s an expiration date on many of today’s skills. How…
Left behind twice: What SEN inequity means for tomorrow’s workforce
Michelle Carson examines how early inequality and missed support for children with special educational needs shape access to learning, opportunity and progression. Drawing on findings from the Sutton Trust and Support SEND Kids, and her own experience, she explores why today’s educational gaps become tomorrow’s workforce barriers, unless we act The findings of the Double Disadvantage report has drawn national attention to a familiar but deeply troubling truth: children with special educational needs (SEN) from socially deprived backgrounds are being left…
Planning for tomorrow’s workforce, today
Cory Steinle explores how automation, AI, and shifting market needs are transforming workforce planning. By combining task and skills intelligence with ethical AI, organisations can shift from reactive hiring to proactive strategy, redeploying talent, boosting agility, and making good people decisions that keep pace with the speed of business change. Organisations are navigating a workforce landscape being reshaped by automation, generative AI, and evolving markets. By 2030 up to 30% of current working hours could be automated (McKinsey), and nearly…
The future of frameworks is integration, not competition
Ben Satchwell explores why well-intentioned frameworks often cause confusion rather than clarity. Drawing on common mistakes and missed opportunities, he shows how better integration, rather than wholesale replacement, can unlock value. One global reference for digital skills, SFIA9, offers a powerful example of what works when frameworks align, not compete. There is no shortage of frameworks in organisations today. Leadership frameworks, capability frameworks, technical standards; each designed with the hope of shaping how people perform and grow. The challenge is…
The future of work: Stop confusing performance with capability
Many organisations confuse past performance with future capability – and it’s costing them. Ban Satchwell explains why relying on outcomes alone leads to flawed decisions, missed potential and ineffective people development. To build resilient, adaptable teams, we must treat performance and capability as utterly distinct, and assess them through separate processes. In HR, we often mistake what someone has done for what they can do. This confusion between performance and capability is one of the most persistent and costly errors…
L&D’s moment to reboot management for a hybrid world
Hybrid working isn’t broken; but it is being left to chance. Gary Cookson shows how L&D can fix it: define team norms, build purposeful onsite experiences, enable collaboration and management capabilities, and support individuals with real-time learning tools. Enabling hybrid by design, can only drive improve engagement, productivity and retention. Why are we still talking about hybrid working? Isn’t it all so very 2022? Not so. It is often in the media as various organisations (or, more specifically, the leader…
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