February 11, 2021

Flexibility and reskilling top priorities for UK employers in 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic is driving a fundamental shift in the way companies operate, accelerating the need for an adaptable and agile workforce to drive business success. According to Mercer’s 2021 Global Talent Trends study, the financial impact and work-life disruption caused by the pandemic is causing UK employers to focus on redefining flexibility and skills development to ensure their business and employees become more resilient and agile in the face of disruption.

October 20, 2020

Radical reskilling needed to ensure future of economy

by Neil Franklin • HR, News

Research carried out by the CBI prior to the pandemic suggests there is an urgent need for the UK to embark on a radical programme of reskilling that goes further and faster than current plans. According to the CBI, the UK faces a stark choice: invest more in lifetime learning and upskilling of millions of employees, or stick to business as usual, and risk sustained higher rates of unemployment and skills shortages. More →

January 23, 2020

AI reskilling is ‘crucial’ for business success

by Jackie Le Poidevin • News

As AI continues to disrupt the world of work, a new report says upskilling and reskilling will be crucial in developing workers’ competencies to complement technological innovation. Yet according to the 2020 Talent Trends Report released by Randstad Sourceright, only about a fifth of businesses around the world (22 percent) are currently training existing employees to help them adapt to AI. More →

January 23, 2018

Global economy faces an immediate reskilling problem in the face of automation, claims Davos report

by Mark Eltringham • Automation, HR, News

The global economy faces a reskilling crisis with 1.4 million jobs in the US alone vulnerable to disruption from technology and other factors by 2026, according to a new report, Towards a Reskilling Revolution: A Future of Jobs for All, published by the World Economic Forum. The report is an analysis of nearly 1,000 job types across the US economy, encompassing 96 percent of employment in the country. Its aim is to assess the scale of the reskilling task required to protect workforces from an expected wave of automation brought on by the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’. Drawing on this data for the US economy, the report finds that 57 percent of jobs expected to be disrupted belong to women. If called on today to move to another job with skills that match their own, 16 percent of workers would have no opportunities to transition and another 25 percent would have only between one and three matches.

May 3, 2023

Around a quarter of jobs will shift over the next five years, WEF report claims

by Neil Franklin • HR, News

Almost a quarter of jobs are expected to switch in the next five years according to a new report from the World Economic Forum. Its Future of Jobs Report for 2023 suggests that employers anticipate 69 million new jobs to be created and 83 million eliminated among the 673 million jobs corresponding to the dataset, a net decrease of 14 million jobs, or 2 percent of current employment. The data is an extrapolation of data from 803 employers employing around 11 million people. More →

November 3, 2022

Are digital skills the key to a happier, more productive workforce?

by Katy Liddell • Comment, HR, Technology

The rising cost-of-living is impacting life and work in all four corners of the UK. Research from BCC has found that businesses feel compelled to increase their own prices. With costs rising, businesses are facing growing pressures. Not least the need to attract and retain the talent they can depend on to deliver. Research has shown that taking time to upskill current employees, especially in terms of their digital skills, benefits both productivity and engagement at all levels of an organisation. Our own Tech and Battle for Talent report recognises that 42 percent of employees in organisations across the UK would be more likely to stay in their current role if employers provided regular and intensive training, while 47 percent would be happier. More →

March 21, 2022

ESG objectives now a priority for quarter of organisations

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

New research from Cloudera claims that more than one quarter (26 percent) of business decision makers are now putting increasing investment into environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) initiatives, ahead of developing new products/services (24 percent) or accelerating financial growth (21 percent). Additionally, knowledge workers believe as much as 49 percent of the data their business uses on a day-to-day basis should be focused on doing good for the communities it serves. This is a sentiment 52 percent of business decision makers agree with — a clear indication that profit and ESG are no longer mutually exclusive pursuits. More →

December 14, 2021

Drawing on internal skills can help firms cope with Great Resignation

by Mike Baker • Comment, HR

The UK’s workforce is undergoing rapid transformation as employees’ expectations and motivations radically change. The impact of Brexit, COVID-19 and long periods of furlough have created a tidal wave of resignations across every industry. Workers are re-thinking career paths, work conditions and long-term goals after a turbulent 18 months; with one study finding that 38 percent of people are looking to change roles in the new year. More →

November 26, 2021

Employers expect significant organisational transformation due to technology advances

by Jayne Smith • Business, News, Technology

Due to the significant workplace technology changes brought on by the pandemic, more than half (53 percent) of employers plan extensive organisational transformation in the next two years. More →

November 18, 2021

Creating a supportive environment for vital deskless workers

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives

The Josh Bersin Company a research and advisory company focused on HR and workforce trends and issues, has released its latest report based on insights from its ongoing Big Reset executive working groups. The report, The Big Reset Playbook: Deskless Workers, focuses on the recommended practices needed to create optimal work experiences for “deskless” employees in retail, healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality, transportation, and other sectors. More →

October 26, 2021

People professionals boosted their skills in response to pandemic challenges

by Jayne Smith • HR, News, Working lives

Nearly two thirds (61 percent) of HR and people professionals strengthened their skills – through either upskilling or reskilling – as a result of their organisation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest People Profession survey report from the CIPD and Workday claims. More →

August 16, 2021

Labour market confidence surges to nine year high, claims CIPD

by Neil Franklin • HR, News

Employers are indicating strong employment intentions for the third quarter of 2021, with confidence surpassing pre-pandemic levels to hit a nine year high. This is the key finding of the latest quarterly CIPD Labour Market Outlook (LMO) survey, involving more than 2,000 employers and covering all sectors of the economy. The survey claims that its net employment intentions figure, which measures the difference between the proportion of employers expecting to add jobs and those planning to cut them, has risen for the fourth consecutive quarter. The figure now sits at +32, up from +27 last quarter, marking the strongest employer intentions seen since tracking began in Winter 2012/13. More →