According to UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there are approximately 548,400 refugees in the UK – yet many highly qualified, experienced people remain locked out of meaningful work. Not by ability, but by structural barriers: recruitment processes that filter out valuable candidates, unrecognised or unfamiliar qualifications, and in many cases, a basic misconception among employers about whether refugees can legally be employed at all.

Join Nigel Cassidy and this month's guests – Jenny Walton, CEO at Refugee Employment Network; Nikki von Bulow, Director of HR Consultancy Services and CIPD Trust Rebuilding Futures Mentor; and Oksana Hulyk, Legal Adviser and HR Professional – as they draw on lived and professional experience to explore how people professionals can remove these barriers and open up meaningful employment for refugee talent.

In this episode, our panel explores:

• What role people professionals can play in removing barriers to refugee employment, from right-to-work misconceptions to recruitment processes that filter out valuable candidates
• Why supporting refugee employment is a workforce strategy, not a philanthropic gesture
• How to equip line managers with the skills and confidence to support refugee talent once they’re in post

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Your next listen:

CIPD Podcast 226 – Closing skill gaps from within: the case for internal mobility

CIPD Podcast 217 – Willing and able: Unlocking opportunities for prison leavers

More from this episode:

Guide: Hiring refugees – Guide for people professionals (CIPD Trust)

Case study: Rebuilding Futures and forming a friendship that goes beyond mentoring (CIPD Trust)

Website: Refugee Employment Network

Refugee Employment Network: Training for Employers

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When it comes to AI-generated grievances, is this really a new problem for the profession, or a familiar one that AI has simply thrown into the spotlight? Has ‘resilience’ become a bit of a tainted word, quietly placing all the onus on the individual to cope? And during a period of labour market stagnation, how do organisations create the conditions for innovation to thrive without relying on an inflow of new talent?

CIPD Head of Membership, Oli Howard, is joined by Rebecca Monk, Chief People Officer at Softcat plc and Trish Hewitt, Founder and Managing Director at Haylo HR and CEO of Resolution at Work.

Recorded: 04 September 2026

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Additional resources:

Report | Labour Market Outlook – Summer 2026

Guide | Resilience: Guide for people professionals to support employees

Employment Law | AI and technology in the workplace: UK employment law

Resources | AI in the workplace

Your next listen:

CIPD Podcast - Episode 233: Courageous conversations

HR People Pod – Ep 39: Rewriting the rules on workplace conflict – with David Liddle

HR People Pod – Ep 28: Hilary Scarlett special – Neuroscience for organisational change

CIPD Podcast – Episode 223: Beyond learning - Mobilising L&D for organisational change

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Why does the question of L&D's return on investment refuse to go away, decade after decade? What does it really mean to measure success as a learning and development function — and are we often measuring the wrong things entirely? And as organisations transform at pace, what will businesses be asking of L&D professionals in five years' time that they aren't asking today?

Jo Squires, CIPD Learning Designer, is joined again by David James, Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning and host of The Learning and Development Podcast, where in part two of this two-part special, they explore how L&D can build credibility and prove its impact, the enduring skills that will keep the profession relevant, and what lies ahead for L&D as the world of work continues to change.

Recorded: 7 August 2026

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Additional resources:

L&D tools: Building your business case – a practical pathway

L&D tools: A performance-led approach to skills and capability planning

Article | Performance focused L&D business partner

Your next listen:

HR People Pod – Ep 55: L&D – From order-taker to strategic partner - with David James

CIPD Podcast 202: Evidence-based L&D – Asking the right questions

The Learning and Development Podcast with David James

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How often do we shy away from tough conversations, or avoid workplaces issues in the hope they’ll simply resolve themselves? It’s human instinct to avoid the uncomfortable, after all. But what impact is this avoidance having in our workplaces? Performance issues go unaddressed, poor behaviour gets worked around, and tension between colleagues is smoothed over rather than named. Left unresolved, these situations can breed misunderstanding, strain relationships, and quietly erode culture and performance. So what do courageous conversations actually look like in practice? 

Join Nigel Cassidy and this month's guests – Joan O'Connor, Head of Leadership Practice at 10Eighty; Jo Carlin, Chief People Officer at Effective Energy Group; and Corinne Micallef, director, facilitator and coach with the National Theatre's Theatreworks programme – as they explore how people professionals, line managers and business leaders can move from avoidance to having courageous conversations. 

In this episode, our panel explores: 

• Why courageous conversations are a core leadership skill rather than a nice-to-have – and what happens when organisations avoid them. How does silence become an organisational risk? 
• What’s the difference between a ‘difficult’ conversation and a ‘courageous’ one. How can we build embed courage as a daily practice. 
• What holds people professionals, business leaders and line managers back from speaking up – and what helps them push through it?

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Your next listen: 

• CIPD Podcast 214: Success starts small – Building sustainable workplace habits 
• CIPD Podcast 212: Creating a culture of psychological safety at work 
• HR People Pod – Episode 52: Courageous leadership, clarity and organisational falafel – with Diana Osagie 

More from this episode: 

• CIPD Profession Map – Professional courage and influence 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How can L&D build the infrastructure, capabilities and credibility needed to become a true growth engine within organisations? What role should L&D play as businesses adopt a more skills-based approach? And when it comes to habitual learning, is the responsibility with the organisation, the individual, or both?

Jo Squires, CIPD Learning Designer is joined by David James, Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning and host of The Learning and Development Podcast, where in part one of a two-part special, they explore how L&D can position itself as an engine for growth and the importance for individuals to make learning a habit.

Recorded: 7 August 2026

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Additional resources:

L&D tools: A performance-led approach to skills and capability planning

Analysis | How L&D can create value: Focussing on skills development

L&D tools: Building your business case – a practical pathway

Your next listen:

CIPD Podcast 232: The journey to a skills-based organisation: The role of L&D

HR People Pod 54: Future planning as a discipline – with Tom Cheesewright

The Learning and Development Podcast with David James

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Curate, create, communicate – why are these three Cs so pivotal to future-proofing your career? What's the risk of dehumanising work through automation? And how can we help leaders think about the future without oversimplifying it or overwhelming them?

CIPD Director of Profession David D'Souza is joined by Applied Futurist, Tom Cheesewright as they explore why planning for the future isn't a one-off decision, but a discipline organisations have to build in.

Recorded: 09 June 2026 at CIPD Festival of Work

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Your next listen:

CIPD Podcast 213: Skilling up your organisation now and for the future

CIPD Podcast 232: The journey towards a skills-based organisation: The role of L&D

HR People Pod – Ep 49: Business impact | Employee empowerment | Change readiness in an AI world

HR People Pod – Ep 43: Inside Davos – AI, work and the future of identity - with Allyn Bailey

More from this episode:

Topic: AI in the workplace

Thought leadership: The future of work – Insights for senior leaders on drivers of change

Analysis: Evolution of the people profession

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As business priorities shift, skills shortages intensify and technology changes the nature of work, organisations need a clearer view of the skills and capabilities they have — and how to deploy them where they can create the greatest impact. But how can learning professionals support the building of new capability at pace and scale, when many organisations still struggle to see what skills exist in the workforce, to what level of expertise, or to move that capability to where it's needed most? 

Join Nigel Cassidy and this month's guests – Shona Marshall, Founder of The ASM Difference; Laurell Hector, Managing Director at McManus HRD; and Andrew Jacobs, Learning Strategist and Founder of Llarn Learning – as they explore L&D's role in supporting the shift to becoming a skills-based organisation. 

In this episode, our panel explores: 

• Why L&D is critical to enabling skills-based transformation, by responding to business priorities and driving the performance they require 
• How skills intelligence, taxonomies and internal marketplaces can inform smarter, workforce planning, internal mobility and learning investment. 
• What must change in how learning is designed and delivered – moving away from linear, one-off training programmes towards continuous, skills-led development that keeps pace with changing skills landscape. 

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Your next listen: 

CIPD Podcast 231: The journey to a skills-based organisation 

CIPD Podcast 207: HR’s next top operating model 

HR People Pod – Episode 48: Leadership reflections | Skills visibility | Workload creep 

More from this episode: 

Guide – Skills matching: Using and deploying people’s skills effectively in the workplace 

Analysis – How L&D can create value: Focussing on skills development 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HR People Pod – Ep 53: Progression conversations | ERA 2025: Probation | Relationship building

What's the real cost when organisations avoid honest career progression conversations? As the qualifying period for unfair dismissal drops from two years to six months under the Employment Rights Act 2025, how ready are managers to really make probation periods count? And with managers stretched thinner than ever, has building real relationships with their people become an afterthought?

CIPD Director of Profession David D’Souza is joined by Cheryl Samuels, co-founder of #InclusiveHR; Vilma Nikolaidou, Director of People and Culture at the British Film Institute; and Marc Weedon, Executive Coach, HR Consultant and Owner of excelHR.

Recorded: 10 July 2026

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Additional resources:

Tracking law changes: Employment Rights Act 2025

Guidance: Effectively managing probation

Your next listen:

CIPD Podcast 226: Closing skill gaps from within: the case for internal mobility

HR People Pod – Ep 39: Rewriting the rules on workplace conflict – with David Liddle

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does courageous leadership really look like when the pressure is on? How can leaders move beyond assumptions and opaque messaging to create genuine clarity? And why is humility one of the most important pillars of good leadership?

CIPD Director of Profession David D’Souza is joined by author, leadership coach and founder of Courageous Leadership Consultancy, Diana Osagie, to explore how leaders can transform thinking, build better organisational habits and create the clarity and confidence to have the conversations that matter.

Recorded: 10 June 2026

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Additional resources:

Article: Diana Osagie on the foundations of courageous leadership (People Management)

Explore more from Diana Osagie on courageous and empowered leadership

Your next listen:

CIPD Podcast 214: Success starts small – Building sustainable workplace habits

HR People Pod – Ep 44: Crisis leadership | Impact of employee benefits | Friction-maxxing at work

HR People Pod – Ep 37: Leading under pressure – with Professor Kevin Fong

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For decades, jobs have helped organisations structure work, allocate responsibilities and make decisions about people. But as business priorities shift, skills shortages intensify and technology changes the nature of work, organisations need a clearer view of the skills and capabilities they have — and how to deploy them where they can create the greatest impact. 

Join Nigel Cassidy and this month’s guests – Simone Carroll, CHRO and Director; Stephen Findlay, Head of Organisational Development at Skills Development Scotland; and Alex Boulting, Global OD & HR Transformation Leader at Ebbnflow – as they explore what it means to become a skills-based organisation.  

In this episode, our panel explores: 

•What it means to become a skills-based organisation, and how skills can complement rather than replace traditional job and role structures 

•How people professionals can identify current and future skills needs, connect skills to business impact, and rethink recruitment, workforce planning, performance and development 

•Why skills-based transformation is not just an HR project, but a people strategy requiring co-creation, trust, cultural change and the right use of skills data and technology 

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Your next listen:

CIPD Podcast 207: HR’s next top operating model

HR People Pod – Episode 48: Leadership reflections | Skills visibility | Workload creep

More from this episode:

Guide – Skills matching: Using and deploying people’s skills effectively in the workplace

Analysis – How L&D can create value: Focussing on skills development

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.