Learning Uncut

In this episode of Learning Uncut, Peter McKenzie from UnitingCare Queensland joins Michelle Ockers to discuss the First Nations Cultural Appreciation course. They dive into the process of creating the four-module eLearning program including the research, story gathering, design processes and stakeholder review. Furthermore, they discuss what aspects of the program have made it so successful inclu...

Dr Anna Barnett and Gent Ahmetaj join Michelle Ockers to discuss the third of the 20th anniversary reports from the annual L&D benchmark research conducted by Mind Tools for Business. They discuss the key megatrends forecasted to reshape the future of L&D including AI, climate change and diversity. They explain how these trends were identified, potential impacts and key takeaways. This discussion...

In this episode, we dive deep into how Fletcher Building, one of New Zealand's largest employers, has created a significant shift in safety culture and outcomes. Anthony Mitchell, an EHS Manager from Fletcher Building, and Heidi Lance from Real Learning share the story of how their award-winning Safety Leadership program dramatically shifted the belief that all accidents are preventable. Two key a...

Gent Ahmetaj and Dr Anna Barnett join Michelle Ockers to discuss a the 20th anniversary reports from the annual L&D benchmark research conducted by Mind Tools for Business. They discuss the key findings from analysing this year's benchmark data, particularly focusing on the importance of strategic business alignment for high-performing L&D teams. They explain how their network analysis uncovered t...

There is a shift underway in workplace behaviour in the Australian construction industry to create a more welcoming, respectful and inclusive culture. Multiplex has embraced this change with their award-winning Appropriate Workplace Behaviour program. Karina Moon and Annaleigh McKay discuss the program which aims to equip employees with the knowledge to identify appropriate versus inappropriate be...

Strategic and business alignment is a key practice for top-performing L&D teams. Creating an organisational learning strategy is an opportunity to focus intensively on alignment, deepening stakeholder relationships and getting clarity on what matters most to them. Putting a learning strategy and action plan in place that aligns with these priorities increases the impact of learning and the credibi...

Are you moving into a new organisation in an L&D Leader role? Set yourself up for success with this special Learning Uncut Playbook. Drawing upon the experience of past Learning Uncut podcast guests, we've identified a number of aspects to focus on in your first 90 days to establish and position yourself in your organisation to have strong influence, business connection and impact. We've added an...

Continuing their series on skills development, Ravina Bhatia and Michelle Ockers walk through a real world case study from a mid-sized Australian Retail Bank to showcase the application of Learning Uncut's three stage process for skills development. This example highlights how the context of the team/organisation influences skills development and details the level of impact that the approach had....

The Learning Uncut podcast is over five and a half years old, with more than 147,000 unique downloads in over 120 countries. In 2023 we've added over 20 regular case study episodes, as well as resuming the Elevate series.  Laura Overton from Learning Changemakers joins host Michelle Ockers to look back over 2023. They discuss professional highlights, sum up their observations on L&D in 2023, and r...

Continuing their series on skills development, Ravina Bhatia and Michelle Ockers walk through the three-stage Learning Uncut process for skills development: (1) co-design a custom skills framework (2) implement the framework (3) develop a skills toolkit. They outline the key tasks in each phase and link them back to the elements of skills building previously covered in this Skills Development seri...

IOR is a small, innovative Australian family owned and operated business with a diverse range of services in the 'fuels' industry. This episode focuses on supporting drivers who deliver fuel to remotely operated 24-hour diesel stops that service remote areas of Australia. While the business is high tech the learning and performance support approach is a fit-for-purpose mix of digital, offline and...

Continuing their series on Skills Development, Ravina Bhatia and Michelle Ockers explore the critical element of 'accessible development'. This is all about easy access, easy navigation and using development tools and resources when and where you want to. They discuss accepting the friction points that exist in your organisation and making access easy regardless of these points. This is the fifth...

Learning Uncut's host, Michelle Ockers, interviews Claire Seldon, a learning designer and gamification consultant. Claire works for the Department of Education in New South Wales and leads a team of designers in creating gamified digital interactives for students. She is also an academic at the University of Technology, Sydney, specializing in gamification and AR/VR in education. Claire discusses...

Continuing their series on Skills Development, Ravina Bhatia and Michelle Ockers explore multifaceted development approaches. They discuss why it's important to use a variety of development approaches, and the most common gaps in the approaches offered for development in organisations. This is the fourth in our Learning Uncut Elevate series on Skills Development. Additional episodes published fort...

Keara Byrne, the Head of Leadership and Organisational Development at Arriba Group, discusses her extensive use of human-centered design (HCD) in various organisations. Keara shares her passion for HCD and its value in creating effective solutions. She stands by the claim that without HCD, she would have wasted time, money, and credibility. Listen to learn more about the benefits of co-designing s...

Continuing their series on Skills Development, Ravina Bhatia and Michelle Ockers explore the critical element of goal alignment in skills development. They discuss the challenges of aligning personal development goals with organisational objectives and emphasize the importance of this alignment for success.   This is the third in our Learning Uncut Elevate series on Skills Development. Additional...

Simon Jobson, the Director of Capability and Learning at Sydney Trains discusses their Elevate customer service training program for their operational workforce of over 2,000 people. The program was designed using an evidence-based approach that drew on insights from business data and employee focus groups. The digital learning program is problem-centred (rather than content oriented) and engaging...

Continuing our special Learning Uncut Elevate series on Skills Development, Learning Uncut Co-Founders Ravina Bhatia and Michelle Ockers discuss the seven key elements of skills development. They explore what it means to have these elements in place and how they can help organizations set up a successful skills development journey. Whether you're just starting out or already on the path, this epis...

Michelle speaks with Fabrizio Conrado, the Director of AI and Technology at Avado, about building an integrated learning technology infrastructure. Fabrizio discusses Avado's journey in selecting Thought Industries as their LMS provider and how they successfully integrated it with other technology elements. He also shares key considerations for selecting the right technology and partner and provid...

Skills development has gained significant attention in L&D in recent years, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and rapidly changing business landscape. In this Elevate episode Learning Uncut co-founders Ravina Bhatia and Michelle Ockers discuss how skills development has evolved in recent years and fundamentals for getting started with contemporary approaches to skills developmen...

In this episode, James Kennedy, a civil engineer and change practitioner, discusses the contractor safety management program at Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC). He shares how his childhood passion for LEGOs sparked his curiosity about how things work and how his team used data to rectify their initial misconceptions and bolster program design. Learn about "Hearts and Minds," an initiative...

Join Michelle Ockers for a compelling conversation with Dustin Lacasse, the L&D Lead at the San Diego Zoo, as they delve into the world of non-profit L&D. Lacasse shares his personal experiences, highlighting both the challenges and possibilities. He brings to light his team's strategic approach to performance management by moving away from a "needs improvement" to a "developing towards standards"...

How Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport has piloted a customised micro-credential to develop storytelling skills across their workforce. Our guests are Stacie Swindon, a learning and development consultant from Waka Kotahi and Marcus Garrett, an instructional designer from RMIT Online who partnered on this project. Our host, Michelle Ockers, from Learning Uncut also worked on this pilot, shaping the...

Marc Howells, VP of Global Talent and Development at AstraZeneca, discusses the company's radical learning transformation. He dives into cultivating a culture of lifelong learning, experimenting with journaling for learning reflection, and fostering continuous learning through their "Learning for Life" campaign. Howells also explains the shift toward learning democratisation, making resources acce...

Deb Van Rensburg, who leads Enterprise Regulatory Learning at National Australia Bank (NAB) discusses how they have evolved their approach to regulatory learning. We cover the 3-stage approach they used to streamline content and improve the learner experience. This includes the use of real-world scenarios and inclusive design practices to ensure that every participant feels seen and finds relevanc...