As part of an online webinar that I co-hosted for the USC Online Masters’ Learning Design and Technology program, here are ten top trends in L&D that I summarized from Forbes, the TD magazine and Training Magazine:

1. People will need to learn at the speed of business as skill gaps are increasing.

2. Blended learning - a module will include a combination of blended learning methods such as YouTube video, classroom training, Mooc, lab or FB group in the workplace to impart training.

3. ATAWAD – Anytime, Anywhere, Any Device training that uses shorter content, subtitles, mobile apps and eLearning will be the name of the game. ELearning is a $180b business.

4. While ADDIE will still stay mainstream, SAM (Successive Approximation Model) will also become commonplace. Instructional designers will need to improvise and become agile.

5. Storytelling and humor, micro learning, social media tools to implement mass customization, just-in-time training for millennials who learn differently, and distance learning with globalization and distributed teams will increase.

6. Virtual Reality including Artificial Reality, videos, VR headsets and immersive training for product launch or virtual training will increase as will the use of artificial intelligence

7. People skills such as emotional intelligence, collaboration and negotiation will become essential skills for L&D professionals. Learners will require 3 critical skills in the future: learn and unlearn, digital and data fluency and learn to problem solve creatively.

8. Leadership skills will focus on change management, building coalitions, critical thinking and problem solving.

9. Facilitators will need to become coaches as class sizes shrink.

10. Demand for big data skills will increase requiring employees to analyze large amounts of data.