CIPD Festival of Work 2025: Day-two round-up

Yesterday (12 June) was the second and concluding day of this year's CIPD Festival of Work conference. Read our six key takeaways.

Five ways to close the skills gap

Our latest webinar addressed varying ways that HR can help address skills gaps. Lara Bryant presents five highlights.

Lack of soft skills hampers performance, research suggests

Three quarters (75%) of UK employers admitted to hiring a candidate with strong technical skills who later underperformed due to a lack of soft skills and cultural alignment, according to research...

UK ranks 22nd for global skills proficiency

The UK has ranked 22nd globally out of 109 countries in skills proficiency, according to a report published today (4 June).

How HR can prepare for Gen Alpha

To make sure that future workforce strategies can support Generation Alpha, and set them up for success, Lara Bryant reports on the four steps that HR leaders should be taking right now.

Trump’s tariff chaos: How HR can instil resilience

Amid economic and labour market uncertainty caused by US-imposed tariffs, how can HR support employees? Hannah Davenport reports.

Under-22s set to gain from apprenticeship funding boost

The UK government’s £3bn ‘apprenticeship budget’, aimed at support apprentices aged 16 to 21, has been hailed as “really good news for young people”, though the CIPD called for “a more ambitious...

The skills mismatch problem

As the predicted skills needed to equip the future workforce continues to change, how can HR leaders keep employees up to date? Adi Gaskell investigates

What might the new UK-India trade deal mean for HR?

A newly minted UK-India trade deal offers the chance to address skills shortages and boost cost savings, but only if HR properly assesses recruitment strategy and manages auxiliary risks, HR experts...

News

Six in 10 Gen Z workers want more entrepreneurial freedom

Two thirds (67%) of workers aged 18 to 27 (Generation Z) aspire to own or lead a business in the future, according to research findings published today (1 May).

AI makes the skills gap impossible to ignore

HR leaders have navigated seismic shifts in the way we work. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping this further, affecting not only how we work, but also how we learn and build teams.

How to tackle the green skills crisis

Do we really know what skills our workforce needs to support the green energy transition, and HR’s role in helping them get there? Cath Everett sheds light on the issue of how HR can contribute to...