Webinars, talks and podcasts

‘Solving the digital skills puzzle’ was the title of a talk given by Chris Hogan, Director of Employer Propositions at the Open University (OU), at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) recent annual conference exhibition.

The Open University (OU) recently hosted a webinar called How to beat the skills shortage. The webinar discussed the UK’s skills landscape, in the context of the findings of the 2022 Business Barometer report, which was produced by the OU in conjunction with The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).

The Open University (OU) has been running a series of podcasts about learning and the skills landscape in Northern Ireland. Previous podcasts have looked at skills in the tech and manufacturing sectors and the importance of lifelong learning. 

There is a widespread skills shortage in IT and professional services roles. In this podcast, our guests explain how flexible learning can address these challenges and how Belfast-based Datactics is proactively facing these challenges.

In the current candidate-driven market, traditional employee benefits are no longer meeting the evolving expectations of workers, and old-hat L&D processes are failing to support the ambitions people have for their careers, hobbies, work-life blend, and families.

It’s Manufacturing Month in Northern Ireland this month. Led by the campaigning organisation Manufacturing NI, there’s a programme of events highlighting the successes and challenges facing the sector currently. To mark the initiative, The Open University (OU) Northern Ireland produced a podcast, discussing the future of skills and learning in Northern Ireland’s manufacturing sector.

The social work profession has faced considerable challenges the past 10-15 years. There are significant recruitment and retention issues, particularly in more remote and rural areas. Funding challenges have had an impact on learning and development provision. At the same time, demand for social worker interventions have been rising, with social workers undertaking increasingly complex support of vulnerable people.

Graduate apprenticeships are helping plug digital skills gaps in Scotland, particularly in the business critical area of cyber security. As part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week (7-11 March), The Open University in Scotland (OUiS) hosted an employer webinar to talk about the current digital skills landscape in Scotland and the role of apprenticeships in addressing skills challenges.

There are significant skills shortages in Scotland, with almost two thirds of Scottish employers (63%) struggling to access the talent they need, according to The Open University’s Business Barometer Report 2021. This situation is having a big impact on many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Scotland.

Access to skills is the number one issue currently for business leaders in Northern Ireland. That was one of the key messages to emerge from a recent Open University (OU) podcast, hosted by Laurence Knell, Associate Lecturer at The Open University’s triple-accredited Business School.Laurie was joined by three guests – Gordon Milligan, Deputy Chief Executive at the public transport organisation Translink, John D’Arcy, National Director at the OU in Ireland, and Dr Lynsey Quinn, Business Development Lead for the OU in Ireland.