Learning and development (L&D) is a dynamic field. As the modern workplace evolves with the changing times, there’s a continuous flow of emerging trends that come to light. 

To be able to continuously optimize your L&D strategy, it’s important to have a pulse on what’s trending and where the industry is headed. Let’s dive into this list that covers the most important trends that L&D pros should be aware of right now. 

A growing number of businesses are revisiting their approach to L&D and strategizing how to better leverage it as a driver of meaningful business outcomes, rather than just a nice-to-have employee benefit.

In the past, benefits such as tuition reimbursement and providing access to training might have been sufficient to entice job-seekers and engage existing employees. But when it comes to contributing to retention, mobility and other critical business outcomes, it’s a challenge to measure and determine whether or not these programs make an impact.

Companies are thinking more critically about their L&D investments amid a global talent shortage, widening skills gaps and economic uncertainty. Instead of viewing learning and education as benefits that check a box, they’re revisiting these programs to ensure they are strategically aligned to the greater needs of the business and generating an ROI. 

Traditionally, skills are referred to as being “soft” or “hard.” But for many, these definitions no longer hit the mark as they disregard the evolving nature of work and the need for employees to adapt and acquire new skills throughout their careers. 

In contrast, skills are now being reframed and looked at through the lens of durability. In this context, the focus is on two skills types — “perishable” skills which are hyper-specific (e.g. on a particular technology or process), and “durable” skills which are transferable and can be leveraged across various domains (e.g. technical proficiency, critical thinking, problem-solving, communication).

Organizations are taking a dynamic approach to upskilling and reskilling which both equip employees with durable skill sets and continuously upskills for perishable skills. The result is a comprehensive framework that captures the dynamic and constantly changing demands of the modern workforce. 

Rather than having L&D live on the sidelines, organizations are finding new ways to integrate learning into company culture to promote greater engagement. 

This approach, commonly referred to as fostering a learning culture, is one that prioritizes skills development as central to its values, promotes a growth mindset and encourages knowledge-sharing among employees. This also helps to reinforce your company’s commitment to employee growth and development and show your people that it’s a priority.

The world of L&D is entering a new level of understanding of what accessibility means when it comes to workplace learning. Many traditional L&D initiatives are inaccessible to a large portion of the workforce. This is due to a wide range of factors, such as strict admission requirements, lack of options for remote learning, financial requirements and more.

One example is tuition reimbursement. This popular benefit offering is only accessible to employees that have the financial means to pay for tuition upfront and wait for reimbursement. This alienates a large portion of the employee population, especially those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Finding ways to remove these barriers to learning and making L&D programs accessible to the employees that need them most has become a top priority now as organizations compete to attract and retain talent. Simply put, you can't reap the benefits of L&D if your employees can't take advantage of it.

Cross-departmental learning is emerging as an engaging and effective method of skill-building and growing institutional knowledge.

More organizations are empowering workers to take learning into their own hands and participate in collaborative skill shares to help educate themselves and their colleagues, oftentimes through a talent marketplace or a digital platform that allows employees to access internal development opportunities. Examples of this include activities such as hackathons or pitch competitions that encourage cross-team learning and innovation.

This emergent trend makes providing L&D support a requirement for managers, while also equipping them with the training needed to be well-versed in all aspects of L&D, from career paths to learning programs and more.

In many organizations, managers are already expected to mentor and guide employees through their development journeys. However, problems can arise if they aren’t provided with the training and resources to do this effectively.

For example, without the proper guidance, an employee might take a course or enroll in a program that isn’t relevant to their career goals and then be disappointed if they don’t get the outcome they were hoping for afterward. This can damage employee morale, as well as the overall credibility of your L&D program.

Equipped with the right tools, managers can be some of the greatest champions of your L&D efforts. HR pros are taking a strategic approach to defining how L&D support is an inherent aspect of a people management role, and then developing the training needed to enable this. 

Technological advancements continue to shape L&D in new ways. Some examples include AI-based learning to develop personalized learning recommendations, gamification of learning to engage employees and augmented and virtual reality learning content for more immersive learning experiences. 

These technologies can help make existing L&D programs be more engaging and effective but likely lend themselves better to some workforce and skills needs over others. L&D pros need to be aware of the latest developments and carefully assess whether a new technology makes sense for their unique needs.

The employee skills and competencies needed for continued organizational success rarely remain static. That fact, along with the rapid rate of change within the L&D industry, means it can feel hard to keep in step with the latest trends. 

The good news is that many of the insights provided above are still emerging. Starting to think about these trends now is a proactive step you can take in helping your company stay ahead of the curve and move towards addressing your most pressing L&D challenges. 

Need to take action on skills development? Download this comprehensive guide to skill-building to learn how to fast-track learning within your organization.