Top 7 Learning and Development Trends for 2026

Nikki Helmer

Monday, December 15th, 2025

Corporate learning and development trends are shifting with new technologies, capabilities, and business needs to meet. The velocity of change in business has decisively outpaced the traditional, static training model. Learning is more business-critical than ever, as companies race to keep up with AI, balance ever-evolving workplace goals, and prepare for the next big unknown.

Throughout 2025, in conversations with executive leaders in human resources, IT, and learning and development, as well as industry analysts and my team of product engineers, one theme kept resurfacing:

In 2026, your ability to build new capabilities will matter more than any single technology choice.

Here are the seven learning and development trends shaping that future:

1. Skill Frameworks Get Sharper and More Popular.

Skill taxonomies were created as a way to organize and catalog workforce skills across an organization, but they’re confusing and overly complicated to apply. People are turning to skill frameworks instead.

A skill framework creates a clear link between roles and skills so each employee knows exactly what skills and proficiency levels are needed for their job and any position they hope to move into. They know exactly where they stand and there’s always a clear growth path, as learning becomes far more targeted and aligned to work.

2. Content Libraries Become Ingredients, Not Destinations.

Enterprise companies are paying millions for content libraries that don’t get used enough to justify the expense. With AI dynamically curating content, these libraries will no longer be the go-to place for employee learning. Instead, libraries will become more backend “ingredients” that form the basis of the AI-curated pathways and experiences.

In 2026, libraries will shift from “places employees go” to raw materials that AI assembles into contextual, personalized pathways. Relevance becomes the differentiator, rather than catalog size, which means that many organizations will be able to reduce their investments. The future belongs to content that AI can remix for specific skills, levels, and moments of need.

3. Leadership Programs Blend In-Person Experiences with AI Support.

Companies will start to reinvest in immersive, in-person leadership experiences, using AI to provide continuous reflection, coaching, and conversation practice before, between, and after important interactions. Leadership development is critical for all businesses, so that the most influential people on your team have the skills to help, promote, and participate in workforce change management.

4. Transformation Requires Human-Enablement, Not Just Technology.

Businesses right now are stacked with AI tools and capabilities, and investing more all the time. Yet, the ROI is lacking. Nearly 95% of businesses have seen zero return on in-house AI investments and only 15% of generative AI (Gen AI) users report their organizations see significant ROI from it.

Why? Because capability, not just access, determines whether technology has an impact.

In 2026, learning teams will take on a central role in change enablement, building confidence, mindsets, and behaviors so people can work differently, not just use new tools. The role of learning will be to help employees make sense of change and transform at the pace of technology.

5. Capability Dashboards Become the New Measure of Transformation.

Leaders are shifting away from tracking content consumption (like completion metrics). In addition to time savings and efficiency metrics, they are looking for proof that workforce transformation is actually occurring.

They want visibility into:

Skill readiness
Proficiency growth
Behavioral adoption
Team-level capability gaps

Capability dashboards will become a central mechanism for tracking progress and proving that transformation is actually happening.

6. Learning Teams Evolve Into Cross-Functional Agents.

Learning can no longer operate in isolation. They have to be reimagined to support business goals through the wide-ranging expertise needed across the entire organization.

The new model will include performance consultants, AI orchestrators, and data partners. Leaner teams will function strategically, embedded across business initiatives to accelerate execution and reduce time-to-impact for business-critical initiatives.

7. Reflection Becomes a Regular Development Ritual.

Reflection has always been a key part of learning frameworks. Studies show that reflection can help knowledge retention and outcomes. Yet, it’s often difficult to operationalize.

All of that changes with AI, which has enabled regular, productive, and conversational check-ins that can help summarize and cement new growth or information. Individuals can summarize what they’ve learned, practice scenarios, or prepare for upcoming conversations. Teams can debrief together more regularly.

The result: more readiness, more clarity, and more confidence.

Learning Is Changing, But It Remains the Key to Success.

AI is speeding everything up—but capability will determine who keeps up.

Organizations that thrive in 2026 won’t be the ones with the most tools. They’ll be the ones who build a workforce that can adapt, grow, and perform in an environment defined by constant change. Part of that means keeping up with the learning and development trends that are most proven to accelerate workforce transformation.

That’s because learning is no longer just an L&D or HR function. It’s your operating system for transformation.