It’s the latest learning and development news, reports, research and company updates, all personally compiled by TJ’s Editor, Jo Cook
New TJ partnership
We have partnered with the upcoming HR Leaders Unconference, in London, to explore challenges that people profession leaders are faced with.
Dragons, brain injury and The Big Issue
Big Issue Group is launching an exciting new partnership with brain injury charity SameYou, helping brain injury survivors return to work with the support of Big Issue Recruit Job Coaches.
In a survey, conducted by Big Issue Group and SameYou, of more than 300 brain injury survivors and carers, a third of respondents felt they did not feel ready to return to their jobs post their brain injuries. And of these 53% of survivors said they had to return for financial reasons.
SameYou was founded by actor Emilia Clarke MBE and her mother, Jenny Clarke MBE, to support brain injury survivors with their recoveries. Emilia suffered two life-threatening brain haemorrhages while starring as Daenerys Targaryen in HBO series Game of Thrones.
7 ways staff volunteering can improve your organisation
In today’s fast-paced business world, finding ways to enhance employee satisfaction and community engagement is more important than ever. One powerful yet often overlooked method is encouraging staff to participate in volunteering activities. Not only does volunteering benefit the community, but it also brings a myriad of advantages to organisations and their employees.
To mark Volunteering Week (3-9 June), Jenny Wells, Head of HR at High Speed Training, a registered B-Corp, explores seven compelling reasons why your organisation should prioritise staff volunteering.
Are young people prepared for future careers?
School students favour STEM over creative subjects, according to brand-new research exploring how to prepare young people for future careers in the world of AI.
Dukes Plus, a leading education consultancy firm, has analysed what students are currently learning to find how it aligns with predictions for the future job market.
In a Dukes Plus survey asking 1,000 school students which subjects they most enjoy, over four in 10 chose STEM lessons, including computer science, biology and maths. The interest in STEM seemingly continues into further education, with online monthly searches for ‘computer science A level’ seeing a 21% year-on-year increase.
This popularity is a positive sign as STEM careers are estimated to grow in importance due to a greater need for climate change specialists, digital skills and medical staff in the future.
Three steps to embrace ‘mental fitness’ in high-pressure work environments
Research has found that mental health problems cost the UK economy a staggering £117.9 billion every year and almost three-quarters of the cost (72%) is due to lost productivity.
However, this also means that ‘mental fitness’ is the largest opportunity business leaders have in order to drive improvements in their revenue performance. Matt Webb, CEO at sales training company Mentor Group, outlines steps and strategies businesses can adopt to ensure their workforce is mentally resilient to navigate through their high-pressure working environments.
Modern slavery identified as top whistleblowing concern
The number of whistleblowing reports across the UK and Europe continues to rise with modern slavery emerging as an issue among organisations, according to a new report. Whistleblowing continues to play a crucial role in exposing misconduct within organisations with areas of concern including risk-taking behaviours, deteriorating corporate governance, substance abuse and bullying.
However, it is the issue of modern slavery that stands out as a matter of concern in Safecall’s Whistleblowing Benchmark Report 2024. It is the first time that modern slavery has appeared as a statistically significant area of concern within organisations since the report started in 2019.
