Most L&D teams are not ready to face the future

Published in November 2025, Fosway Group’s Digital Learning Realities research analyses all the critical trends and opportunities for learning leaders in the next 12 months. Here, Fosway analysts discuss L&D teams’ admission that they need to improve their future skills.

Around half of all L&D teams do not believe they are adequately skilled to succeed in the next two to three years. Only a third feel their skills are up to scratch.  At a time of tumult and innovation L&D teams need to invest in the advice and expertise that enables them to be fit for the future and thrive. Not just in learning theory, but in organisational development, change management and business transformation.

There is a significant need for upskilling L&D across the learning cycle and the capabilities needed to be a successful L&D team are changing. But where are L&D teams growing their capabilities? What skills are in favour and what skills are going out of fashion? What does it take to be an effective L&D professional in the years to come? And where are L&D teams developing their skills?

Learning teams are moving away from instructional design skills into learning experience design and development using AI

Against a backdrop of business transformation and automation from AI, as well as a challenging economic climate, the nature of what it means to be a learning professional is shifting. Now, there is a growing emphasis on L&D teams building capabilities in business acumen, business influencing, data analytics and learning experience design expertise. These are taking precedence over more transactional instructional design skills which are becoming more commoditised because of AI.

L&D teams are prioritising AI, adaptive learning, personalisation, organisation skills, systems ecosystem and data analytics as key capability growth areas

Nearly all of learning technology shows significant momentum this year, despite some weakening of interest in gamification and AR and VR. It is clear that respondents seem keen to innovate learning by bring it closer to work, focus on growing skills and joining up the learning experience across business systems and talent development. This represents a significant and strategic shift for many L&D teams. And the interest in these innovations and L&D capabilities gives a significant clue to how L&D will evolve as a function in the years to come.

This is an excerpt from Digital Learning Realities 2025. Get the full insight and discover all the latest market and solution trends by downloading all infographics here.

What should you do next?

• Digital Learning Realities 2026 is now open. Add your voice, share your experience.
• Phase Two is now open – alongside Fosway’s publicly available suite of AI research papers come a range of private assets for learning leaders involved in this  AI project. Fosway can help you make AI work for you in 2026 and beyond. Contact us for more, join Fosway’s strategic AI project for 2026: ‘AI in Learning’.

Other recommended reading

• Build your AI strategy with evidence, not guesswork. Fosway AI Strategic Research Programme
• The 2025 Fosway 9-Grid^TM for Digital Learning – full report. Before the 2026 report is published, brush up on our last research cycle.

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