OU’s report helps power up Learning at Work Week

Posted on 13 May 2025 • Business, University news

The Open University (OU) is pleased to partner with the Campaign for Learning to mark Learning at Work Week (12-18 May) a unique annual event that aims to champion the benefits of continual learning and development.

OpenLearn and the OU’s Business Development Unit (BDU) are teaming up to support the week and a newly-created hub draws on BDU’s recent report Powering up Productivity. 

Led nationally by Campaign for Learning, a division of the charity NCFE employers are invited to mark the week with fun, creative, innovative and inclusive campaigns and events. It’s designed so workplaces of all sizes can take part, including multinationals, SMEs, charities, public sector, and government departments.

Employers say productivity has declined

The BDU report found that a lack of skills was a key cause of declining productivity within businesses.

Based on a YouGov survey of over 500 UK businesses, it showed that one in four (27%) believe productivity has declined over the past five years. With UK productivity lagging behind countries like the US, Germany, and France, the report examines how organisations prioritise, measure, and strive to enhance productivity.

Two in five (41%) of UK decision makers agree the ongoing skills shortage is having a negative impact on their productivity. However, skills development can deliver change to drive efficiencies. Three in four employers (74%) said adopting new technologies would positively impact the productivity of their organisation.

Phil Kenmore, Director of Employers and Partnerships at The Open University, said:

“Increasing productivity isn’t about working employees harder for longer or recruiting more staff, it is embedded in development of skills, which drives innovation. Improved productivity will not only benefit businesses, but the wider economy and living standards.”

In collaboration with OpenLearn, a new learning hub has been created for Learning at Work Week to help employers (and employees) drive productivity in the workplace. The hub includes courses and interactive resources in areas identified by the report as vital to increasing productivity including leadership, digital skills, data analysis, wellbeing, inclusion and hybrid working, alongside a number of useful new articles.

Bite-sized learning designed to fit

The OU’s free online learning platform OpenLearn reaches around 10 million learners a year and delivers bite-sized learning experiences designed to fit easily into daily life. It can help develop a range of skills for a workforce, who can learn while at work, earning continuing professional development (CPD) points and digital badges.

Jo Dyer, Director of Learner and Discovery Services at the OU, said:

“OpenLearn’s millions of users know the value of its free courses and resources in increasing their employability, developing skills and boosting their CV, but it’s equally as valuable to employers and their employees.

“Free and flexible access to content created by a world-leading online education provider provides a win-win for any organisation and its people.”

Julia Wright, National Director at Campaign for Learning, says employers are crucial in promoting the importance of lifelong learning as well as providing opportunities and support for employees to train, reskill and develop their careers. She said:

“To get on in work and in life, we all need to learn throughout our lives – whether it’s through formal education or wider activities. The workplace remains one of the most important and recognised contexts for developing ourselves.”

While Learning at Work Week has become a regular event in the calendar, the hope is that the benefits and innovative practice displayed during the week will become part of each organisation’s culture for the rest of the year and beyond.