Learning and development is criticised for not being engaging enough, but how can it get with the curve in 2025? 

Learning and development is in a constant state of flux, and L&D professionals are left to pick up the flack. 

Corporate L&D in particular are left to try and modernise with stuffy systems, outdated tools and archaic processes. 

Related: 44 key statistics about skills you need to know

So what is an L&D professional to do? 

In this, we’ll look at: 

• Key challenges faced by L&D organisations in 2024 
• Plus some key ways teams can modernise 

Let’s get started. 

What were the key challenges for L&D in 2024?

Elearning do a yearly review of challenges and key focuses for organisations. And some of the challenges they picked up were no surprise.

From employee retention to learner engagement, some of the challenges are ones we’ve been struggling with for a while.

But new ones crept in.

Things like coping with the ‘speed of need’ aka creating content quicker than it’s being consumed.

We take a look at some of the key challenges for L&D in 2024:

• Employee retention: A key challenge for L&D was the retention of skilled employees. When it costs so much to let talent go, it’s a key concern. 
• Learner engagement: L&D is constantly trying to keep up with online learning trends, they’re left trying to make interactive content and personalised learning paths littered with gamification. 
• Skills gaps: Identifying skills gaps and providing relevant training to keep pace with evolving skill requirements is a critical challenge in the L&D space.
• Outdated technology: When organisations are stuck with legacy technology systems, it make achieving desired learning outcomes even more difficult. 
• Content creation: The rate of content creation demand is high, so creating at the speed of need is vital. 
• Measuring impact: Learning ROI is still important, and it’s no surprise. Proving learning’s impact on productivity and growth is vital to changing the narrative that L&D is vital to business performance.
• Hybrid culture adoption: As working environments change, L&D needs to cater to varied learning styles and hybrid working situations. 

💡 Pro Tip

Want more? We wrote a full blog on the L&D challenges and the solutions to each.

How to modernise your learning and development 

The traditional approaches to learning and development are no longer sufficient to keep pace with the demands of the modern world.

With technology advancing at an unprecedented rate and the workforce becoming increasingly diverse and dispersed, organisations must adapt their strategies to ensure their workforce remains skilled, engaged, and adaptable.

Here’s how you can modernise L&D:

Traditional training methods

You knew this one would come up. 

Many L&D programmes rely heavily on traditional learning like classroom-style lectures or e-learning modules. 

But these types of learning content often lack personalisation and interactivity. 

This tends to make them less engaging and less learner engagement means poorer learning retention which leads to poor results. 

Failure to address soft skills development

While technical skills are essential, soft skills such as communication, leadership, and emotional intelligence are becoming increasingly important in the workplace. 

However, traditional L&D programs may not adequately address the development of these skills.

Related: Hard skills vs soft skills

One size fits all approach

Traditional L&D often adopts a one-size-fits-all approach, assuming that all employees have the same learning needs and preferences. 

However, individuals have diverse learning styles, preferences, and skill levels, requiring a more personalised approach to learning.

To do is better than to know 

Being able to do something is better than knowing something. 

In fact, practicing what you’ve learned takes your retention to 75%. 

With so much information available, retaining it all is difficult. Learning and application go hand in hand. 

Curate first, create second 

We already have masses of content available out there, but L&D typically begins creating before they curate. 

YouTube and Google remain the two most popular tools for learning year over year. 

Well curated content is more helpful than new content that is difficult to engage with. 

💡 Pro Tip

Totara Engage is the best tool to curate your learning content. Create collaboration and share resources right in your LMS.

Learn more about Totara Engage

Focus on content delivery over application

Traditional L&D tends to prioritise content delivery rather than focusing on how learners can apply their knowledge and skills in real-world situations. 

This can lead to a gap between learning and actual performance improvement.

Think like a marketer 

L&D creates products for its learners. But to get learners onto that content, you need to spread awareness. Just like how a marketer makes people aware of its products. 

So, when it comes to creating your learning content, and driving users to your courses, you need to consider how to market them too. 

Related: Complete guide to LMS adoption [and how to apply marketing tactics]

Slow adaptation to technological advances

The pace of technological change has accelerated dramatically in recent years, yet many L&D programs have been slow to incorporate new technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, mobile learning, and AI-driven adaptive learning platforms.

Resistance to change

There may be resistance within organisations to adopting new approaches to L&D due to inertia, budget constraints, or a lack of awareness about emerging trends in the field.

To stay relevant and effective, L&D professionals and organisations need to embrace modern learning strategies that prioritise flexibility, personalisation, technology integration, and continuous improvement. 

This might involve adopting a blended learning approach, leveraging innovative technologies, fostering a culture of learning agility, and implementing robust measurement and evaluation practices.

So what’s the solution? 

Well, step one is making sure you have your strategy in place. 

What are you trying to achieve with your learning? 

From there, you need to make sure you have the right LMS provider in place. 

You can only get so far with the wrong tool in play. If your LMS is outdated, there isn’t much you can do to help your situation. 

Modernising your learning strategy and your content can be easily achieved by following the steps listed above. 

We pride ourselves on being your bolt-on team of learning experts and developers, helping to project manage your LMS switch, build new features and scope a product that is future-proof. 

Book a demo to see how you can use BuildEmpire’s know-how to modernise your learning outcomes.