The world of work is evolving rapidly, with technological advancements, shifting employee expectations, and widening skills gaps presenting constant challenges. As a people professional, you’re at the forefront of tackling these issues—ensuring teams are equipped, engaged, and ready for the future.

Addressing skills gaps and adapting to change can feel daunting. Without the right strategies, teams risk burnout, disengagement, and falling behind the demands of an ever-changing world of work. The need to develop adaptable, skilled, and motivated employees has never been greater.

Your expertise as an HR or L&D professional makes you uniqely positioned to lead this charge. By assessing team strengths, identifying development needs, and enabling flexible working arrangements, you can create an environment that boosts engagement and productivity. Strategic planning for future skills needs will also ensure your organisation remains competitive and prepared for what lies ahead.

Our ‘Focus on’ pages make it easy to access our practical resources and insights - such as guides on workforce development, or reports on UK skills policies like the Apprenticeship Guarantee – for help making informed decisions and shape impactful strategies. By staying informed and proactive, you can continue to build resilient, future-ready teams that thrive in an ever-changing world of work.

Explore our resources

Factsheet: Skills development in the UK workplace

Understand what we mean by skills in the workplace, UK skill levels and the government’s skills policy.

Read the factsheet

Factsheet: Performance management

Understand how to build an effective approach to performance management, including the tools that can support it.

Read the factsheet

Insight: How a skills focus in L&D can create value

We discuss how L&D teams can create value and impact and improve performance through focusing on skills development

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Insight: How technology in L&D can create value

We discuss how L&D teams can engage with new technologies such as generative AI to create impact and improve performance.

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Report: People-powered innovation

The CIPD examines the state of innovation in the UK and its connection with productivity to inform policy-making and investment.

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Report: People management and productivity

Discover our insights into productivity and people management practices.

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Report: Youth apprenticeships and the case for a flexible skills levy

Analysis of the current UK Apprenticeship Levy and policy recommendations for how it can be adapted to provide a better apprenticeships system and workforce training support.

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Report: An industrial strategy for the everyday economy

We explore the changes needed to develop a more progressive policy on the UK’s productivity, growth and industrial strategy.

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Report: Employer views on skills policy in the UK

An analysis of the effectiveness of the skills system and whether it meets current and future needs.

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News: CIPD launches HR support pilot scheme for SMEs

UK-wide pilot programme will put CIPD members’ expertise in the spotlight and could pave the way for more funding to help SMEs access vital support.

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Member-exclusive resources

All these resources are exclusive member-only content. 

Guide: Skills matching

Using and deploying people’s skills effectively in the workplace. This guide offers advice on assessing skills, planning skills development and deploying and redeploying staff.

Explore the guide

Guide: Employing and training young people (UK)

Find out how traineeships, T Levels and apprenticeships can help young people succeed in your organisation

Explore the guide

Evidence review: People performance

Our research explores individual and team performance, how it can be measured, and which models can be used to evaluate it

Read our review

Evidence review: Performance feedback

Our research explores the factors that make feedback effective in improving performance and how this can be put into practice by people professionals

Read our review

Evidence review: High-performing teams

Explore the latest research on how to create a positive environment to build and nurture effective teams

Read our review

Factsheet: Apprenticeships

Understand what apprenticeships are, their role in workforce development, and the current UK policy context.

Read the factsheet