3 Surprising Finds from State of L&D

Surprises are fun. That’s why you have a reason to read through the entire Mimeo 2019 State of L&D Report.

This annual report examines the current trends and challenges within the L&D industry. This year, over 500 respondents provided their insights to the survey, with 61% of them coming from large companies.

The report itself covers a split of L&D professionals from industries such as manufacturing, educational/training services and consulting. This wide variety of respondents gives us an in-depth look at what trainers are facing on the job in 2019.

After reviewing the report’s results, here are just a few surprising finds that caught our eye:

Blended content is on the rise

Blended content refers to the distribution of both print and digital training materials (not to be confused with Blended Learning, which uses multiple modalities to deliver training). Last year, less than 50% of total respondents claimed a desire to provide between 25 and 75% of their content in both formats. As of this year, 60% have reached that goal already.

Why the sudden jump? This year, training teams are now seeing a need for digital distribution to complement print. A little over one third of companies are now making all training materials available as blended content.

With 56% of trainers wanting to make all of their content available in both mediums, here are 10 Tips for Delivering Content Digitally.

24% of trainers plan to use AR/VR

After only 10% of respondents said they would implement augmented or virtual reality (AR/VR) as a learning tool in 2018, that number more than doubled in 2019

With the intention of using AR/VR for simulated training experiences, 7% of trainers have successfully implemented this technology. This total is up from last year as well, with 2% of trainers saying they had implemented AR/VR in 2018.

This integration demonstrates how larger training teams (>10 members) are looking to evolve their training plans, with 26% of these being internal teams wanted to use AR/VR in the near future.

Only 2% of trainers report chatbots as part of their strategy

Despite 40% of millennials using chatbots on a daily basis, the State of L&D survey found that only a small percentage of training teams actually use them as part of their strategy.

Currently, most trainers say video learning still claims a large part of their training delivery. Despite the lack of usage, chatbot technology’s shortage of attention may not be an illustration of ineffectiveness. Instead, this reflects on how new techniques are still emerging within the L&D industry.

With several training teams still trying to manage the proper distribution and training methods, new age technologies are being put on the back burner. This does not mean their time will never come. What it does mean is their time has not come yet.