In our May edition, host Justice Onwuka is joined by his fellow consultants to discuss whether the education system is truly reflective of the world of work today. With the number of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEETS) increasing, what can we do to unlock this ’lost’ talent?

We also explore the LinkedIn ‘Skills on the Rise’ report with a game of country skills bingo! What skill rates on the USA’s list, but not on the UK’s?

Content referenced in this podcast:

LinkedIn Skills on the Rise 2025: The 15 fastest-growing skills in the US | LinkedIn Skills on the Rise in 2025

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spring-statement-2025-document

https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/library/lost-boys

In our April edition, host Justice Onwuka is joined by his fellow consultants to discuss the concept of task masking (not Taskmaster) and what it tells us about the way we measure workplace productivity.

Plus, with TV show Adolescence making a huge splash worldwide, the group explore masculinity and mental health, and the need for better support systems in the workplace.

Finally, there’s a sneak peak of our upcoming content, including our webinar on AI’s impact on the future of L&D, coming on Thursday 1st May at 11am – sign up here!

Content referenced in this podcast:

The Task Masking Trend: How To Stop Your Team From Faking Productivity

Netflix series 'Adolescence': Teen masculinity in crisis – DW – 04/02/2025

In this episode of The Big Questions, host James Eynon is joined by guests from both Capita & the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to discuss ways to drive the successful adoption of generative AI tools.

Together they explore the challenges and opportunities presented by generative AI, the importance of human-centric skills, and strategies for effective adoption and training within organisations.

From the need for continuous experimentation, understanding workforce readiness, and the role of leadership in fostering a culture of innovation and learning; this podcast gives you the building blocks for successful AI adoption.

In our March edition, host James Eynon is joined by fellow consultant Justice Onwuka to discuss a recent report on the importance of ‘hope’ in leadership; what does it mean and what should leaders be doing differently?

They also explore the latest research on the long-running saga of remote working vs productivity, and James explains why ‘quiet vacationing’ is not all it seems…

Plus, a sneak peak of our webinar on AI’s impact on the future of L&D, coming on Thursday 1st May at 11am!

Content referenced in this podcast:

https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1908527/trust-gap-half-employees-question-colleagues-remote-productivity-survey-finds

https://www.gallup.com/analytics/656315/leadership-needs-of-followers.aspx

https://www.capita.com/videos/big-questions-effective-hybrid-leader

We’re back! And we’ve got a brand-new series of monthly podcasts for you, sharing all the latest Workforce Development news & trends, alongside sneak peaks at what other things we’ve got coming up (from podcasts to events).

In our February edition, host James Eynon is joined by fellow consultants Becca Hitchman, Ashleigh Rhymer & Justice Onwuka. Together they discuss the reported death of DEI initiatives, the changing face of remote work on its impact on working mothers, and the growing concern of loneliness in the workplace.

They also explore the challenges of navigating change and uncertainty, particularly in relation to AI adoption and its implications for organisations. How do we bridge the gap between a desire to innovate, and the confidence & competence of people to deliver it?

We’re back! And we’ve got a brand-new series of monthly podcasts for you, sharing all the latest Workforce Development news & trends, alongside sneak peaks at what other things we’ve got coming up (from podcasts to events).

In our February edition, host James Eynon is joined by fellow consultants Becca Hitchman, Ashleigh Rhymer & Justice Onwuka. Together they discuss the reported death of DEI initiatives, the changing face of remote work on its impact on working mothers, and the growing concern of loneliness in the workplace.

They also explore the challenges of navigating change and uncertainty, particularly in relation to AI adoption and its implications for organisations. How do we bridge the gap between a desire to innovate, and the confidence & competence of people to deliver it?

In the final conversation in the series on skills-based organisations, James speaks to Marc Zao-Sanders, CEO of Filtered Technologies, about the practical implementation of skills mapping and content tagging in learning and development.

They discuss the challenges of creating a skills taxonomy framework, mapping skills to learning content, and the pros and cons of having a large content library.

Marc emphasizes the importance of using technology and human expertise to effectively map content to skills, and highlights the interconnectedness of tags, skills, discovery, data, and content in the skills process.

Check out the blog referenced in the conversation here: https://shorturl.at/N3zuQ

The number of women in work across all sectors in the UK has increased by two million since 2010, but are we supporting them to unlock their true potential? Award-winning learning professional Jenny Muhlwa is leading the charge to understand the impact of women’s hormonal cycle on performance, and what you can do to harness it.

How can your levels of Oestrogen and Progesterone help you organise your workload effectively? How do we start the conversation and break the taboo around women’s health? What can L&D do to help?

Join us in starting the conversation around hormonal cycles and get some practical tips on how to make changes in your organisation.

In this episode we’re getting practical, because it’s one thing to identify the skills you need in your teams & organisation, it’s another to actually map those skills into a framework and implement it.

Where do you even start with mapping skills / creating a framework? How do you future proof the framework? How can you measure against it?

Helping to answer those questions are Principal Learning Consultant and accredited coach; Becca Hitchman, and a Group Performance and Development manager with a focus on career frameworks; Zia Aftab.

Together, they explore how you break down the stages to creating a framework, the important role of line managers in embedding it, and how to measure success.

And, of course, there’s the latest trip to Learning Room 101 where Zia don’t need Maslow, and Becca hasn’t got time for mandatory learning…

Effective skills-focussed organisations can create a workforce with strong, multi-faceted capabilities, but this can all be undermined if we don’t use inclusive processes along the way.

It’s one thing to work out the skills your organisation needs, but how do you inclusively develop them, supporting minority groups to progress & create a truly resilient workforce

In this episode, James is joined by fellow Capita consultant Justice Onwuka and Amp Up Your Voice Flounder & CEO Johanne Penny to discuss this.

They explore how creating a psychologically safe environment fosters adaptability and greater performance, the importance of cultural competence, and the need for effective feedback loops.

The conversation also highlights the distinction between mentorship and sponsorship in talent development, emphasizing the necessity of investing in diversity and inclusion to retain and attract talent.