We explore the reforms needed to improve workforce productivity in Northern England
Northern England suffers from persistent gaps in both productivity and skill levels. The UK Government’s Levelling Up White Paper identifies skills as a crucial driver of regional economic disparities and highlights plans to increase skills training, raise educational standards, and put employers at the heart of the Further Education and training system. But how likely is it that these bold aims will be achieved?
Bringing together perspectives from northern employers, regional policy-makers, employer representative bodies and Further Education providers, this report calls for a fundamental rethink of skills policy and recommends ways to boost employer investment in skills and improve the way skills are used in the workplace.
The CIPD has run a number of free HR consultancy support pilots which have been successful in helping small businesses understand and address skills gaps. The evaluation of these pilots suggests that bespoke and flexible business consultancy support provided led to improvements in workplace relations, labour productivity and financial outcomes, and could help prompt further investment in business improvement among participating firms.
Download the report
Rebecca Peters, Senior Policy and Practice Adviser, outlines some of the biggest changes impacting people practices in 2026 and what actions people teams can take now. Offering a legal perspective, Shoosmiths' Paul Stokey, Partner and Head of People and Reward, and Emma Morgan, Partner and immigration specialist, highlight some of the key legal considerations under these reforms
In a tight labour market, how can people professionals build trusted pathways that grow talent from within and strengthen resilience. Is internal mobility being overlooked as a powerful way to close skills gaps?
Lizzie Crowley, Senior Policy Advisor, breaks down what’s changing, why it matters, and how organisations should respond.
A manifesto for fair, skilled and innovative work, setting out CIPD’s recommendations for policy-makers to strengthen the Welsh labour market
Read our latest Labour Market Outlook report for analysis on employers’ recruitment, redundancy and pay intentions
Based on an assessment of FTSE 100 annual reports and focus groups with investors and HR leaders, this report gives benchmarking data, insights and practical recommendations for improving workforce reporting practices
Survey findings on employer and employee perspectives on trade union representation and relations, giving expert insight. The report makes recommendations on how to prepare for the key Employment Rights Bill reforms around trade union rights and strengthen employer and trade union partnership for mutual gain