Leaders share perspectives on 8 learning and development trends shaping 2025.
Remember the metaverse moment in learning and development (L&D)? Sleek demos painted a vivid picture of teams learning in virtual worlds, with headsets on and avatars mingling in digital training rooms. The future of workplace learning seemed crystal clear.
Until it wasn’t.
While we were daydreaming about virtual campuses, something interesting was happening in the real world. People were learning differently — grabbing quick advice from teammates on Slack, sharing screenshots of solutions, jumping on impromptu calls to solve problems together. No VR headsets required.
That’s the funny thing about learning trends. The ones that stick aren’t usually the ones making the loudest noise. These are the quiet ones that just make sense, like finding answers right when you need them or learning from someone who’s been there before.
When we step back from all the digital noise, we see something fascinating. Our brains haven’t changed since we first looked up at the stars in wonder. The same rush of dopamine that drove our ancestors to explore new territories now pushes us to master new skills. We’re driven to connect with and learn from each other. This post shares eight of the most impactful trends in learning and development we expect to see in 2025 and beyond.
8 learning and development trends shaping 2025.
At Adobe Learning Summit 2024, we spoke with eight learning leaders who are turning this vision into reality. Here’s what they had to say about learning and development trends in 2025:
1. AI can create content and more efficient learning experiences.
Something unexpected is happening as AI takes over content creation in workplace learning. While Gajendra Palni, head of learning services at Tata Consultancy Services, acknowledges that AI will displace some jobs, he’s watching a different story unfold. As AI automates content production, from crafting lesson plans to developing training modules and learning pathways, learning teams are shifting toward what machines can’t do — building learning experiences that resonate at a human level.
“AI will have a big role to play when it comes to content creation. For service providers like us, it might mean job threats for certain segments of instructional designers and content creators. However, I think AI will bring in efficiency. For example, instructional designers can now focus on more strategic aspects and storytelling rather than just focusing on operational aspects of the content creation process like layout and design.”
Gajendra Palni
Head of Learning Services, Tata Consultancy Services
Learning looks very different today. Gone are the days of searching through training portals or sitting in scheduled sessions. Now learning shows up right when you need it. Imagine getting stuck with a purchase request or a new software feature. Instead of scheduling training, the right information appears at your fingertip — like having a helpful colleague nearby.
We’re seeing why this matters more than ever. People have less time and attention for traditional training. They want learning that fits into their workday. That’s why learning is moving beyond the usual training platforms. Short, friendly conversations are replacing long training sessions. Quick, useful tips are more valuable than detailed manuals.
2. Mandatory learning can feel more meaningful.
Banking training used to mean long compliance courses and thick manuals. Having spent over 45 years at Chase, working her way up from banker to vice president of learning development, Penny Heitzman has lived through this transformation. Today, she’s helping shape training that mirrors what really happens in banking.
The shift towards better training makes sense. Bank employees protect customer assets and prevent costly mistakes daily. Traditional training couldn’t match this pace. Today’s approach uses quick simulations that mirror real work, while AI promises to make each person’s learning path more relevant.
“Learning is crucial in the financial services industry due to complex regulations and the need to protect clients and shareholders. Frontline bankers require training to handle complex scenarios and ensure compliance. Training is essential to prevent errors that could lead to financial losses for customers. And hence, learning paths that help with skill development are encouraged and training plays a key role in employee retention.”
Penny Heitzman
Vice President, Learning and Development, JPMorgan Chase
The challenge? Banking’s strict data rules mean you can’t rush into new tech. But even with these limits, learning teams are finding ways to make training work better — mixing essential online lessons with practice sessions, and adding hands-on scenarios where they matter most.
A leading company that specializes in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of medical devices, faced a common challenge. They were using twenty different training platforms scattered across the organization. The scattered resources were hindering the healthcare professionals’ ability to learn effectively, directly impacting patient care.
Their digital learning team found an elegant fix. Keep one central team in charge of the main platform, but let each medical department create training their own way — like a wheel with one strong hub and many working spokes. Teams kept their independence while doctors finally got one clear path to learning.
The hardest part wasn’t the technology. It was convincing teams to give up their familiar systems. But when doctors could suddenly find all their device training in one spot, everyone saw the point. Sometimes simpler really is better.
4. Brands can focus on training outcomes rather than training completion.
Auto dealerships face unique training challenges. Sales cycles run on 30-, 60-, and 90-day rhythms. Staff turnover is high. And most training simply tracks certification completion. But Mazda is trying something different.
They’re looking beyond simple checkboxes. Their training team is exploring how learning connects to real success at work. They want to know what makes top performers different.
The starting point was simple. Instead of just tracking course completion, they began watching how learning habits connect to job performance. Do people who learn more sell better? Do they keep more customers coming back?
Making this practical meant embracing a truly blended approach. They balanced required certifications with opportunities for growth, combining short and focused eLearning modules with hands-on practice sessions.
“For us, blended learning is more important. About 80% of job codes within dealerships have some certification requirements. But we need to balance compliance training with proactive learning for employee engagement and development. The duration of the eLearning courses is no longer 30 to 45 minutes. They’re about 15 minutes, more video based, and modularized. For example, Mazda uses an application to create digital flip cards that can be consumed on the go. Each card contains just three or four bullet points and is highly searchable.”
Carolyn Chan
Manager, Sales and Fixed Operations Training at Mazda
5. Organizations are expanding learning access to drive business outcomes.
Healthcare professionals face a persistent challenge of tracking their continuing education credits across scattered platforms. At Hanger Clinic, Lily Komraus and her team are solving this through a thoughtful learning approach that goes beyond traditional certifications.
This approach uses a flexible system where practitioners can access both comprehensive accreditation courses and quick patient education reference guides. Healthcare professionals can easily track their credits, pull transcripts for medical boards, and even share relevant educational resources with patients. Then, after every course, users are asked two carefully designed questions to measure both their satisfaction and the impact on future patient outcomes. This practice has still only been adopted by 20% of learning activities hosted by hospitals and other education providers.
“Within healthcare education, hospitals, continuing education (CE), and continuing medical education (CME) providers are tasked with measuring and tracking various outcomes, including the positive impact learning intervention has on patient health. For example, providers may track the impact a formal training program has on patient outcomes 6 to 12 months after a course has been completed. Today, close to 20% of learning activities offered by CE and CME providers are using objective measures to capture this data. In Hanger Clinic University, we are implementing self-assessment surveys to collect insights on the impact our education has on the learner.”
Lily Komraus
Director, Partner Professional Education at Hanger, Inc.
6. Using technology to scale learning operations.
Technology changes every month, and Golin’s Joe Leslie and his team move fast to keep 2,000 professionals ahead of the curve. They create great content, design personalized paths, and spot exactly what each person needs. But there’s one roadblock — everything lives in a spreadsheet.
Without automated systems, there’s no way to create dynamic course assignments or personalized learning paths based on job families and seniority levels.
His solution lies in what he calls multi-dimensional personalization — using organization-wide surveys and HR data to create targeted journeys. A creative director and data analyst might start with the same foundations, but their learning paths should quickly diverge based on how they’ll actually use these skills.
“Content personalization is extremely important. For a course there could be a generic initial part, but then different branching or learning paths for specific job families. Currently we use an organizational wide survey to measure AI maturity levels and then look them up by HRIS job family. That way, we can create a multi-dimensional array of factors to build custom learning journeys.”
Joe Leslie
Vice President, Global AI Learning and Development at Golin
As teams grow bigger, manually matching the right courses to each person becomes impossible to scale. However, with a smart system that connects with HR data and automatically creates learning paths, performance reviews instantly suggest relevant training. Everything connects through APIs and shows who's putting their learning into practice, with learning flowing as naturally as work does.
With Adobe Learning Manager, the power shifts to the learner. Each person decides what they want to learn and how they want to grow. Instead of following preset routes, learners create AI-powered, personalized learning paths that match their interests and career goals. Smart recommendations suggest relevant content based on individual skills and aspirations.
7. Learning can be far more engaging.
What happens when you have 2,000 employees who all need to learn different things? At Kyndryl, a multinational IT infrastructure service provider, Jenny Wyttenbach faces this challenge with specialized learning. Making content personal is tough. Making it stick is even tougher.
Her team is building something different — think YouTube, but for work learning. Quick five-minute videos break down complex topics. Hour-long sessions transform into bite-sized chapters.
“Employees are reluctant to take hour-long trainings. They would either like the long training sessions to be broken down into chapters or consume training materials from a website, almost like YouTube for Kyndryl with each module lasting no more than 5 minutes. These are videos, articles, and process documents which are very specific to the needs — like how-to videos.”
Jenny Wyttenbach
Associate Director, Finance Transformation Program Manager at Kyndryl
But first, they need to know what people need. That means surveys, conversations with experts, and constant feedback from managers.
The key is variety. Sometimes you need a quick independent video for a specific task. Other times, you need parts of a longer training broken into chunks. Getting this mix right means listening to what employees need, then working with experts to create the right content.
Short content works best when it’s built around real needs. That’s why Wyttenbach starts with employee feedback. What do they struggle with? What quick guides would help most? When content matches needs, even five minutes can make a big difference.
8. Targeted microlearning can benefit every use case.
While Wyttenbach’s team finds success breaking down content into quick, accessible pieces, Rick Smith at JLG — maker of aerial work platforms, telehandlers, and other access equipment — noticed that making learning bite-sized sometimes creates new challenges. Short lessons are great — they’re quick, they’re easy, and they fit perfectly into a busy day. But his team found that the easier they made each lesson, the harder it became for people to see how everything fit together.
“Learning needs scaffolding — where each piece builds on what came before. But scaffolding becomes difficult with short form content. Since only portions of the knowledge are delivered at a time, the holistic learning might be compromised. Major gaps in a person’s knowledge might not be addressed.”
Rick Smith
Director, Product Training at JLG
But there was another challenge — making content findable. The team focused on simple navigation and smart search. They’re also exploring how AI could suggest the right lesson at the right time.
Creating effective learning experiences depends on helping people understand how everything connects. Then those bite-sized pieces become powerful refreshers, not isolated facts.
The future of workplace learning lies in putting people first.
We often chase the next big thing in learning — better platforms, smarter AI, and automated systems. But step back and you’ll notice something interesting. The best innovations aren’t replacing human connection, they’re enabling it. When we strip away the manual work, the scattered systems, and the one-size-fits-all approaches, we create space for what really drives learning, which is people helping people grow. The true power of automation and AI isn’t in replacing human judgment. It’s in giving learning teams the freedom to build experiences that matter. As technology handles the heavy lifting of content delivery and personalization, we can focus on what machines can’t replicate: understanding someone’s potential and helping them reach it. Maybe that’s the real trend worth watching.
As organizations focus on meaningful learning experiences, they need a platform that handles the complexity while keeping people at the center. Discover how Adobe Learning Manager helps you create meaningful learning experiences at scale.
Sandeep Singh is a senior product marketing manager at Adobe. Singh manages product marketing and go-to-market strategies for the Digital Learning, Advertising, and Publishing groups. With more than 15 years of experience working with digital products, Singh likes solving problems and helping drive growth for businesses.
