At Merlin Entertainments, local L&D teams handled everything from seasonal onboarding and safety training to leadership development. Urgent work came first, so longer-term priorities were often pushed aside. Merlin responded by creating global specialist teams to give those priorities more focus. But how could those teams stay connected to what each attraction needed?

For L&D leaders supporting multiple sites, countries or business units, this episode offers a practical look at how to divide work between global specialists and local teams.

Adam Lacey talks with Rob Peacock, Director of Leadership and Development at Merlin Entertainments. Rob’s global team supports more than 30,000 colleagues across 130 attractions, including LEGOLAND parks, SEA LIFE, Alton Towers and the London Eye.

Rob explains how Merlin reorganised L&D around learning academies. Instead of organising the work by geography, each academy builds expertise in one priority area. Regional learning partners connect the academies with attractions and leaders across the business, bringing in local and commercial needs.

The new model was introduced in stages, so essential training could continue. Onboarding and safety remained local. That matters in a seasonal business where a single attraction can grow from 200 or 300 employees to 1,500 within two months.

Rob also explains why L&D cannot own learning at this scale. The central team can set the direction and provide content and systems, but local managers must bring the learning into everyday work. Merlin also uses a platform where subject matter experts can create and share their knowledge.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How Merlin decides which L&D responsibilities should be global and which need to remain local
• How learning academies and regional partners connect specialist expertise with business needs
• Why managers and subject matter experts must help L&D reach more than 30,000 colleagues
• How storytelling and great conversations can build skills that remain useful throughout a career
• Why performance programmes cannot succeed when pay, incentives, systems and working practices create a low-performance environment

🔗 Connect with Rob via LinkedIn – https://uk.linkedin.com/in/robpeacockuyl

📮 The Assembly Debrief

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👋 Come and connect with us

We’re always keen to hear what’s resonating or what you’re seeing in your world.

Adam Lacey – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamlacey/

Brigid McCormack – https://www.linkedin.com/in/brigidmccormack/

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