Latest news and trends

Every year, The Open University (OU) produces Trends in Learning, our in-depth report into innovations in workplace learning. We identify emerging trends that are either already having an impact on the world of work or will do in the future.

The Open University (OU) is collaborating with Barclays Eagle Labs to promote the Eagle Labs Academy that will equip budding and established entrepreneurs with the tools and knowledge to grow their business.

Learn how Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) utilises apprenticeships to meet long-term recruitment and workforce goals.

Skills shortages, heavy workloads and wellbeing concerns were all messages resonating from the latest Business Barometer report, an annual temperature check on the UK skills landscape.

Following the release of the 2024 Business Barometer report, Dr Haider Ali, Director of Microcredentials and Short Courses at The Open University’s Faculty of Business and Law, explains how the OU can help businesses fill skills gaps by developing internal talent.

Dr Inge Hill, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at The Open University’s Business School, shares practical insights for recent managers and those keen to update their knowledge in an interview.

The most recent annual report published by The Open University in partnership with the British Chambers of Commerce has revealed that persistent skill shortages are causing problems for organisations in various ways.

Risedale Estates was recently rated one of the top 100 apprenticeship employers in the UK. The Cumbria-based care provider has a ‘grow your own’ talent policy, with 25 employees having signed up to the Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship (RNDA) programme since it started in 2018.

Three in four (72%) of employers have seen a shift in young people’s (16-24-year olds) values and priorities in the workplace in the past three years, with over half (51%) attributing this to lack of work experience due to the pandemic, new survey has found.

Chris Cocklin has one apprenticeship under his belt and is now on his second – a Digital and Technology Solutions Professional Degree Apprenticeship through The Open University (OU). And he has recently been nominated for a British Computer Society Apprentice of the Year award.