Hiring your first employee changes more than your workload, it changes your role.

This blog explores why first-time line managers often struggle (even when they’re trying hard) and how structured skills build confidence without corporate complexity.

Durable skills aren’t a future trend, they’re the missing piece behind everyday performance problems.

When managers keep firefighting and decisions keep escalating, it’s rarely a motivation issue.

This article explores why durable skills matter more than ever in SMEs and what managers actually need to build.

It’s a new year, but the same interruptions, Teams calls and “can we grab 10 minutes?” requests are still filling your diary.

When everything looks fine on paper but feels heavy in practice, you’re probably dealing with performance problems that never show up in reports.

Your managers aren’t underperforming they’re compensating.
When capability is left to chance, effort rises but performance stalls. Here’s why support beats pressure every time.

Q1 is the best time for SMEs to fix skills and clarity before performance suffers. Here’s how to strengthen capability without adding more training.

Most online courses rely on video. I don’t. Here’s why SkillSmart courses focus on action, thinking, and behaviour change, not passive watching.

Businesses lose performance when training teaches tasks instead of capability.

Discover how to fix confusion, friction and information overload to build real skills.

One in five UK workers will see their roles change due to the green transition.

Discover what this means for SMEs, which skills will be in demand, and how to prepare your team.

Before we log off for Christmas and New Year, we wanted to pause, properly pause. The inbox is quieter, the to-do list has finally stopped growing, and the learning platforms are (mostly) behaving themselves. So, in the spirit of the season, here’s a slightly tongue-in-cheek Learning & Development take on ’Twas the Night Before Christmas …

Skills shortages aren’t the problem, unstructured training is. Discover how businesses can fix capability gaps quickly with simple, structured learning systems.

If you run or work in a small business, you’ve probably had at least one conversation this year that sounded like:

• “Will AI replace our jobs?”
  

• “Is this going to make people redundant?”
  

• “Should we be worried?”

And the honest answer, according to the latest CIPD research is:
Not really. But the way work works is changing. Fast.

Where SMEs do need to focus?

Most small businesses are feeling it already.

Not the big flashy stuff like robots taking over the office or AI rewriting job descriptions while you sleep, but something much quieter. A slow, noticeable shift in what “good” looks like at work.

It gets dark at lunchtime and my to-do list is in rebellion… so I checked my “ta-da list” instead. What I found said more about this year, and about business growth than I expected.

Work is changing fast, but the skills that make us human matter more than ever. From listening and creativity to teamwork and adaptability, these are the capabilities that will keep your business thriving, whatever the future brings.

You won’t find it on anyone’s childhood dream list, but it’s one of the toughest, most important roles in any business. Here’s why it matters more than most people realise.

Case Study: How we used Slack for curated training.

The four essentials I follow when curating training for businesses like yours.

We all want it work.

No one sets out to achieve mediochre.

So what’s the one question you need to ask before your next training investment?

It’s not an everyday term, let’s be honest.

It’s not likely to form part of an everyday conversation.

So what is curated training and how is it a great cost-effective way to train your workers?

Wait…what?

Words from a 10 year old that made me stop.