Learning and development (L&D) experienced a profound transformation in 2025. The traditional model of standardized courses and annual training sessions has been replaced by a dynamic approach driven by artificial intelligence (AI), a focus on developing durable skills, and a relentless push to demonstrate business impact. This revolution is not just about new technologies, although there were many. It has been a fundamental shift in how organizations think about their future. L&D has become the strategic, data-driven business partner that every C-suite depends on for employee growth and corporate resilience.
Here are the seven trends that impacted L&D the most in 2025 — and how you can catch up quickly if you are feeling behind in any area:
1. AI: From Add-on Tool to Collaborator
The role of AI in L&D has moved beyond a tool to that of an integral collaborator, fundamentally changing how learning is designed and delivered. AI speeds up content creation by curating timely information and helping to draft course outlines, scripts, basic scenarios, and assessment questions. The L&D team’s key responsibility in this collaboration is to ensure that learning is relevant, instructionally sound, and aligned with company values and business objectives. By leveraging data provided by AI, L&D professionals can focus on strategic thinking, designing personalized, data-informed learning experiences within integrated ecosystems.
Feeling behind? Here’s a first step: Start by experimenting with a single, free or low-cost AI tool for a specific, low-stakes task. For example, use a generative AI tool to summarize a long article about a business topic. Ask your team to review a few top-rated AI tools. Or use AI to analyze itself and how it can benefit your process.
2. The Shift From a Role-Based to a “Skills-First” Strategy
The focus has shifted decisively from training people for a specific job title to emphasizing transferable skills that are applicable across departments. This strategic reorientation means L&D is building a corporate capability portfolio, aggregating all individual skills profiles into its own searchable database. Using a skills intelligence platform, they tag and map the workforce’s current skills, identifying gaps. In response to the growing role of AI in daily operations, L&D teams are intentionally prioritizing the development of human-centric skills, including critical thinking, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and collaboration. This proactive approach promotes resilience, internal mobility, and job satisfaction, ensuring each member is well-prepared and in the right place.
Feeling behind? Here’s a first step: Instead of a company-wide overhaul, identify one key business team (e.g., the sales or marketing team) and partner with their leader to map out all the critical skills needed for that team’s success in the next 12 months.
3. Learning in the Flow of Work (LIFOW)
The long-anticipated idea of learning in the flow of work has finally become a reality, turning L&D into a seamless support system for daily tasks. Learning technology now links directly to the tools that employees use every day, like customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, providing content exactly when needed. AI agents and chatbots serve as the primary interface for learning in context, providing hyper-personalized, real-time support as digital coaches. This shift prioritizes meticulously tagged microcontent, such as three-minute videos or interactive checklists. L&D platforms and knowledge management systems (KMS) now mimic the engaging, personalized experience of consumer streaming services, shifting learning from “just in case” to “just in time.”
Feeling behind? Here’s a first step: Choose one frequently asked question or common procedural problem that employees often face. Create a single, two- to three-minute micro-video or a simple, one-page interactive checklist that addresses this problem. Make it accessible directly where the work happens, such as by sharing it in a relevant messaging channel.
4. Proving ROI With Business Data
In 2025, L&D leaders must act as business partners who prove their financial and strategic impact. This means shifting away from vanity reporting metrics, such as course completion rates, and instead connecting initiatives to concrete business outcomes. L&D is now expected to answer questions like: “How did this sales training program affect our deal size?” This requires a strong understanding of the company’s financials and close collaboration with other departments to access and interpret the right data. By showcasing this return on investment (ROI), L&D can justify its budget and secure more funding for future initiatives, positioning the team as a key driver of growth.
Feeling behind? Here’s a first step: Select one existing L&D program that is well-established and has a clear business goal (e.g., a new hire onboarding program aimed at reducing turnover). Before the next session, sit down with the HR business partner or a team lead to define one concrete business metric (e.g., new hire retention rate after six months) and agree on how to measure its change over time. Focus on this single metric to demonstrate impact.
5. “AI Literacy” as Mandatory Training
AI literacy has become essential training for every employee. L&D teams are rolling out tiered approaches designed to teach everyone, from front-line staff to executives, how to use AI tools effectively and securely in their specific roles. Contextualized AI training covers topics such as AI-powered workflows, prompt engineering, and strategic decision-making. An important aspect is risk mitigation, where employees learn to identify and avoid the pitfalls of AI, such as misinformation, data privacy issues, and algorithmic bias. The ultimate goal is to cultivate a culture of responsible AI use that saves time and shields the company from legal and ethical liabilities.
Feeling behind? Here’s a first step: Create a simple, internal communication or “lunch-and-learn” session to introduce the concept of responsible AI use. This session should focus on foundational knowledge, including defining what AI is, discussing the company’s current stance on its use, and highlighting a few key ethical considerations, such as data privacy. This sets the stage for a more comprehensive curriculum.
6. Mental Health as a Core Learning Pillar
Mental health has moved into the spotlight, serving as a core pillar of L&D. Organizations have recognized that a mentally healthy workforce is more engaged and productive. L&D teams are now embedding training on topics like stress management, emotional resilience, and burnout prevention directly into leadership development and broader skills training. A practical ramification is the need to equip managers with the skills to support their teams’ well-being, moving beyond simply pointing to external employee assistance programs and instead building a culture of well-being from the inside out.
Feeling behind? Here’s a first step: Partner with a single senior leader to embed a mental health-focused element into an existing leadership development program. This could be a 30-minute module on “How to Spot Burnout in Your Team” or a panel discussion with leaders on managing stress and promoting well-being. This collaboration makes the initiative more visible and shows leadership buy-in.
7. The Rise of Customer Learning
In a notable expansion of L&D’s traditional scope, businesses are increasingly creating comprehensive learning platforms and resources for their external customers. This goes beyond a simple knowledge base, involving structured tutorials, video courses, and certification programs. This unexpected move is proving to be a powerful tool for enhancing customer support, driving product adoption, and fostering loyalty. By helping customers to use products successfully, L&D reduces the burden on customer support teams, resulting in higher customer retention and increased revenue. This initiative requires L&D to collaborate closely with marketing and sales to create content that serves the entire customer journey, from initial product awareness to becoming a certified expert.
Feeling behind? Here’s a first step: Collaborate with a customer support team to identify the top three most frequent questions or issues customers have. Create a simple, clear tutorial (e.g., a short video or a series of screenshots with text) to answer one of these questions. Publish it on a publicly accessible knowledge base or a dedicated YouTube channel.
This year, the L&D function was no longer defined by what it taught but by the business value it created. Its new mandate going into 2026 is to serve as a catalyst for corporate agility, directly impacting everything from employee retention to market leadership. By embracing AI, a skills-first mindset, and a data-driven approach, L&D has positioned itself at the heart of the modern organization — not as a support function, but as an indispensable engine of growth and human potential.
To help you prepare for a successful 2026, access our library of free resources here.
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