What Learning at Work Week reveals about access to learning

What is ‘Learning at Work Week’?

Learning at Work Week (18–24 May 2026) is a UK-wide initiative that encourages organisations to focus on learning and development in the workplace. For many, it’s a moment in the year to pause and take stock of how learning supports people to do their jobs well, adapt to change and develop over time.

This feels particularly relevant right now as many organisations are balancing tight budgets, high workloads and ongoing change (including the growing impact of AI on everyday work). In this environment, learning can easily become something that’s delayed, reduced or limited to a small group of roles.

Learning at Work Week offers a useful reset point: a chance to look beyond one-off activities and consider how learning is experienced across the organisation, how accessible it really is, and whether it reflects the realities of people’s day-to-day work.

The challenge: who actually gets access to learning?

Research reveals that employer investment in training has dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade with 41% of organisations not investing in training at all in 2024 (Gov UK, 2025). Access to learning is also often uneven; where development does exist, it is frequently prioritised for managers, leaders or ‘high‑potential’ groups. Meanwhile employees in early‑career, frontline or operational roles receive far less structured support.

This creates a gap between the learning organisations say they value and the learning people actually experience. Those who make up the majority of the workforce (and who are often closest to customers, systems and day‑to‑day delivery) can be left without accessible development opportunities, despite being expected to adapt quickly to change.

Time is another key barrier. Even where learning budgets are available, traditional programmes can feel unrealistic for busy teams. Long workshops, multi‑hour eLearning or abstract content are hard to prioritise alongside operational pressures, leading to low uptake and limited impact.

Taken together, these challenges mean that learning can become fragmented, inconsistent or symbolic, rather than something that genuinely supports people to build capability over time. For organisations looking to strengthen engagement, retention and adaptability, this raises an important question: how to create learning that reaches more people, fits the reality of their roles, and delivers value without adding burden.

Why ‘learning for all’ is becoming a business priority

In response to these challenges, many organisations are reassessing how learning is targeted and delivered. Rather than concentrating limited resources on a narrow group of roles, there is growing recognition that wider access to learning can deliver stronger overall impact.

When learning is available to more people, organisations benefit from more consistent capability, stronger engagement and greater adaptability. This is increasingly important as change – including the impact of AI and new ways of working – is felt across all role levels, not just within leadership teams. Skills linked to collaboration, self‑management and effective use of technology are relevant to almost everyone.

At People Business, we see these pressures reflected consistently in our work with clients. That’s why we developed Learning for All: a stream of short, practical learning designed to support employees across role levels, in a way that fits the realities of busy working lives.

What accessible learning really looks like in practice

Accessible learning starts with an understanding of how people actually work. It needs to be time‑efficient, so learners can engage in short bursts without stepping away from operational priorities.

It also needs to be practical and relevant. Learning works best when people can clearly see how it applies to their day‑to‑day roles, particularly for cross‑cutting skills such as working with AI, managing workload or collaborating effectively with others.

Finally, accessible learning is designed to fit alongside everyday work, not compete with it. Clear language, inclusive design and realistic expectations all help ensure learning feels supportive and usable, rather than ambitious but out of reach.

Practical ways to embed learning during and beyond Learning at Work Week

Learning at Work Week can be a valuable prompt, but its impact depends on what happens next. Rather than treating it as a standalone initiative, organisations often get more value by using it to reinforce learning habits that can continue throughout the year.

Here are some practical tips:

• Focus on small, achievable learning moments: Short, accessible learning works particularly well during a busy week, allowing people to engage without stepping away from their core responsibilities. This can help normalise learning as part of everyday work, rather than something that sits outside it.
• Prioritise learning that feels immediately relevant: Topics that cut across roles – such as ways of working, collaboration, self‑management or using new tools effectively – are more likely to resonate during a shared learning moment like Learning at Work Week.
• Momentum matters: Learning introduced during the week should be easy to return to, repeat or build on. Approaches such as microlearning can support this by making learning accessible before, during and after the campaign, rather than limiting activity to a single week.

At People Business, this is the thinking behind Learning for All: providing short, practical learning that organisations can use flexibly, whether as part of Learning at Work Week or as an ongoing feature of their learning offer.

Learning at Work Week offers a valuable opportunity to reflect on how learning shows up in day‑to‑day work. By focusing on learning that is accessible, practical and sustainable, organisations can use the week not as a one‑off event, but as a catalyst for longer‑term change.

To find out more about People Business’s learning and people development solutions, get in touch and talk to one of our consultants who will be able to help and advise you: info@peoplebusiness.co.uk.