The difficult times we face mean that HR professionals working in early careers will have to grapple with many challenges as we come to terms with the new world that we live in. Perhaps the greatest of these challenges will be maintaining the health and wellbeing of apprentices as they themselves have to live with a potentially prolonged period of uncertainty and change. Some will adapt easily and quickly but others will struggle and there will be a risk to their mental health.

#NationalInclusionWeek - Bridging the Employment Gap At the heart of creating a diverse skilled workforce is having a skills system that supports everybody to thrive and develop no matter what background they come from or which barriers they may face.

Time to reverse the decline As I talk to clients from across different sectors of our economy about their future skills needs a common theme emerges which is that, to survive and flourish, businesses must reverse the decades long decline in investment in workforce training that we have seen in the UK.

So this week sees more negative headlines regarding the apprenticeship reform programme.

Bridging the skills gap I was fortunate enough to join David Willett of the Open University (OU) on a radio day recently where we discussed the skills gap that exists in the UK economy and what this means for employers and workers alike.