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3 Key L&D Trends of 2022 and the 1 Pitfall to Avoid 

Published Date
Author Eric Bromell

Though the methodology of how people learn best remains the same over time, trends in learning techniques change based on the current cultural, social, and economic environment. 

So, just what are the current hottest trends in workplace learning?

We asked L&D expert Donald Taylor – Chairman of the Learning Technologies Conference and researcher and writer in workplace learning and performance technologies – to break it down for us. So, just what are the current hottest trends in workplace learning?

In the Global Sentiment Survey, we asked the global HR and L&D community – “What will be hot in workplace learning in 2022?” from the list of 15 options above, and they delivered! Here are the results.

  • In regions that favor individualism or have a strong culture of the self (such as North America and, to an extent, Europe) personalization and adaptive delivery is more valued. 
  • In regions that favor a collective cultural mentality, such as South America and Africa, collaborative learning is valued over personalization.
  • All regions value both social learning and personalization – perhaps indicating the intersection of technology with the need for human connection via learning. 

COVID-19 has definitely had an impact on learning trends. 

A Google trends search for rescaling and upskilling shows that it became more popular in the latter part of 2019. The initial conversation around these topics was all about automation and AI – people needed new jobs for a new future of work. 

Then COVID hit, and companies were forced to adapt to virtual environments with new skills required to perform – or to new jobs altogether. Then, they were called back into the office and asked to learn new skills or perform different roles. Now, the current workplace environment is a mixture of the past and present – automation/AI and learning new skills – thus the need for both reskilling and upskilling.

In addition, the promotion of collaborative learning to the #2 spot could indicate that people are craving social interaction and human connection more than ever before. 

It should also be noted that collaborative learning (up 0.2%) and coaching and mentoring (up 0.6%) were the only options to rise last year. In fact, Donald predicts coaching and mentoring to rally for the next year at least (70% confidence). Backed by technology, it’s time has come. 

Finally, COVID required us to adapt to new solutions and environments, but now we have to decide whether to adopt these solutions moving forward. 

All of these factors likely played a role in determining the positions of learning trends on the survey.

As we move further into the second decade of the 21st century post-pandemic, it will be interesting to see if these learning trends remain the same or if others take their place.

For a deeper dive into the content within this article, access the webinar or download the 2022 Global Sentiment Survey Report

Do you have a need to reskill or upskill employees in your organization? Check out our catalog of curated courses or book a demo to learn how you can customize courses for your needs. 

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