The latest L&D news, reports, research and company updates, personally compiled by TJ’s Editor, Jo Cook
State of the Global Workplace report from Gallup
In 2023, global employee engagement stagnated, and overall employee wellbeing declined. While both measures are at or near record highs, their lack of improvement is notable, as they follow multiple years of steady gains. The result is that the majority of the world’s employees continue to struggle at work and in life, with direct consequences for organisational productivity.
Businesses encouraged to support Gen Z ‘side hustle’ as online entrepreneurship unlocks opportunity
New data finds three in five Gen Z at working age are increasingly having to choose job security over ‘being their own boss’, with many innovating through online platforms to start side-projects.
Whop, an online marketplace for digital tools and communities, conducted the ‘Gen Z entrepreneurship survey’ which asked over 1,100 Americans about different generations’ attitudes toward entrepreneurship.
83% of SMEs have ‘concerning’ skills gap in project management
Over 80% of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) have been identified with skills shortages in project management and are facing calls to help tackle a lack of investment in training and upskilling, following a survey by APM.
APM polled over 500 project professionals working for SMEs across all industry sectors in the UK and 83% agreed their employer needs to improve project skills across the workforce.
England’s first and only membership body for Mental Health First Aiders launches
As England’s mental health crisis shows little sign of declining, Mental Health First Aid England, the national authority on mental health first aid, has today unveiled a groundbreaking initiative poised to ignite a new era of action in mental health. The Association of Mental Health First Aiders is England’s first and only membership body for MHFAiders.
MHFA England is the only organisation that offers ongoing support to MHFAiders as part of their training. Through the Association of Mental Health First Aiders, members will be empowered to transform how we talk about and support mental health in the workplace and beyond.
Employee Assistance Programme confusion is hurting businesses financially
Leading corporate health and wellbeing and specialist rehabilitation and case management provider HCML’s newly released corporate health and wellbeing report has found that the low take-up of Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) is costing businesses.
The survey found that while 79% of employers provide an EAP, only 27% of employees realise an EAP exists in their workplace. Furthermore nearly 85% of employers said the utilisation of their EAP was just 3-5%. This indicates that many EAPs are a wasted resource, costing organisations money and not delivering what is needed in terms of employee help and lowering absence days.
North America’s largest learning technology conference celebrates 20 years of excellence with a stellar program line-up
The Learning Guild, a CloserStill Media business, shared program details today for the 20th Anniversary of DevLearn, North America’s largest learning technology event.
More than 4,000 learning professionals who are passionate about technology will gather at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Nov. 6-8 for the DevLearn Conference & Expo. Produced by the organizers of Learning Technologies in London and Paris and Zukunft Personal in Cologne, Hamburg, and Stuttgart, this event will equip North American learning & development professionals to master the latest learning technologies and strategies.
The 2024 program features keynotes by two technology experts:
- Kara Swisher, co-founder and Editor-at-Large at Recode, will share how to harness the opportunities presented by advanced tools and solutions for human capital value
- Justin J. Shaifer, LinkedIn Top Voice in Technology, Science TV Show Host and STEM Educator, will provide strategies for L&D professionals to equip their workforce for the AI age
Impact of CV fraud on UK businesses
Some job applicants may not see an issue with embellishing their CV here and there, but many may not realise that lying on your CV is considered fraud and, therefore, is illegal. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that recruitment fraud cost businesses around £23.9 billion annually before the pandemic.
Crisis in workplace climate engagement
Bosses are under increased scrutiny, following a new report from a leading climate and sustainability training organisation revealing that nearly all workers (93%) don’t know how their company’s sustainability strategy applies to their day-to-day jobs.
AimHi Earth has discovered over three-quarters of employees are unhappy about their bosses’ lack of climate action (77%), exposing a lack of faith in senior business leaders’ sustainability efforts. Over half of those surveyed (52%) think their employers are likely to greenwash.
