L&D Global Sentiment Survey 2026 — from linkedin.com by Donald H. Taylor
On 02/05/2026,
in adult learning, business, career development, change, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, training / L&D, trends, United States, vendors, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
Amid AI and Labor Market Changes, Companies Look to Grow Their Own Skilled Workers — from workshift.org by Colleen Connolly
The explosion of artificial intelligence, combined with slowing growth in the labor force, has many companies reconsidering how they hire and develop workers. Where they once relied on colleges and universities for training, a growing number of companies are now looking in-house.
Investment in developing employees and would-be hires is becoming a key differentiator for companies, according to a new report from the Learning Society, a collaborative effort led out of the Stanford Center on Longevity. And that’s true even as AI adoption grows.
The Big Idea: The report authors interviewed 15 human resources executives from major firms, which ranged in size from Hubbell, an electric and utility product manufacturer with about 17K employees, to Walmart with more than 2M employees. The authors asked about four topics: the impact of AI and technology on work, skill building and talent development, supporting workers over longer working lives, and new partnerships between businesses and higher education.
On 02/04/2026,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, active learning, adjunct faculty, adult learning, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, business, career development, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty/staff, game-changing environment, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, informal learning, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, liberal arts, library / librarians, lifelong learning, productivity / tips and tricks, skills, society, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, teachers, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, tools, trends, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, workplace, youth,
by Daniel Christian
Jim VandeHei’s note to his kids: Blunt AI talk — from axios.com by CEO Jim VandeHei
Axios CEO Jim VandeHei wrote this note to his wife, Autumn, and their three kids. She suggested sharing it more broadly since so many families are wrestling with how to think and talk about AI. So here it is …
Dear Family:
I want to put to words what I’m hearing, seeing, thinking and writing about AI.
- Simply put, I’m now certain it will upend your work and life in ways more profound than the internet or possibly electricity. This will hit in months, not years.
- The changes will be fast, wide, radical, disorienting and scary. No one will avoid its reach.
I’m not trying to frighten you. And I know your opinions range from wonderment to worry. That’s natural and OK. Our species isn’t wired for change of this speed or scale.
- My conversations with the CEOs and builders of these LLMs, as well as my own deep experimentation with AI, have shaken and stirred me in ways I never imagined.
All of you must figure out how to master AI for any specific job or internship you hold or take. You’d be jeopardizing your future careers by not figuring out how to use AI to amplify and improve your work. You’d be wise to replace social media scrolling with LLM testing.
Be the very best at using AI for your gig.
Also see:
Also relevant/see:
On 01/29/2026,
in 21st century, adult learning, Alternatives, apprenticeships, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, career development, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, consortiums, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, credentialing, Daniel S. Christian, education, future, game-changing environment, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, IT in HE, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, legislatures / government / legal, liberal arts, lifelong learning, marketplaces, platforms, professional development, skills, society, student-related, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
The Learning and Employment Records (LER) Report for 2026: Building the infrastructure between learning and work — from smartresume.com; with thanks to Paul Fain for this resource
Executive Summary (excerpt)
This report documents a clear transition now underway: LERs are moving from small experiments to systems people and organizations expect to rely on. Adoption remains early and uneven, but the forces reshaping the ecosystem are no longer speculative. Federal policy signals, state planning cycles, standards maturation, and employer behavior are aligning in ways that suggest 2026 will mark a shift from exploration to execution.
Across interviews with federal leaders, state CIOs, standards bodies, and ecosystem builders, a consistent theme emerged: the traditional model—where institutions control learning and employment records—no longer fits how people move through education and work. In its place, a new model is being actively designed—one in which individuals hold portable, verifiable records that systems can trust without centralizing control.
Most states are not yet operating this way. But planning timelines, RFP language, and federal signals indicate that many will begin building toward this model in early 2026.
As the ecosystem matures, another insight becomes unavoidable: records alone are not enough. Value emerges only when trusted records can be interpreted through shared skill languages, reused across contexts, and embedded into the systems and marketplaces where decisions are made.
Learning and Employment Records are not a product category. They are a data layer—one that reshapes how learning, work, and opportunity connect over time.
This report is written for anyone seeking to understand how LERs are beginning to move from concept to practice. Whether readers are new to the space or actively exploring implementation, the report focuses on observable signals, emerging patterns, and the practical conditions required to move from experimentation toward durable infrastructure.
…
…
“The building blocks for a global, interoperable skills ecosystem are already in place. As education and workforce alignment accelerates, the path toward trusted, machine-readable credentials is clear. The next phase depends on credentials that carry value across institutions, industries, states, and borders; credentials that move with learners wherever their education and careers take them. The question now isn’t whether to act, but how quickly we move.”
– Curtiss Barnes, Chief Executive Officer, 1EdTech
The above item was from Paul Fain’s recent posting, which includes the following excerpt:
SmartResume just published a guide for making sense of this rapidly expanding landscape. The LER Ecosystem Report was produced in partnership with AACRAO, Credential Engine, 1EdTech, HR Open Standards, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. It was based on interviews and feedback gathered over three years from 100+ leaders across education, workforce, government, standards bodies, and tech providers.
The tools are available now to create the sort of interoperable ecosystem that can make talent marketplaces a reality, the report argues. Meanwhile, federal policy moves and bipartisan attention to LERs are accelerating action at the state level.
“For state leaders, this creates a practical inflection point,” says the report. “LERs are shifting from an innovation discussion to an infrastructure planning conversation.”
On 01/22/2026,
in career development, corporate universities / corporate training, ideas, instructional design, learning ecosystem, strategy, training / L&D, trends, United States, vendors, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
Planning Your L&D Hiring for Next Year? Start With Skills, Salary Ranges, and Realistic Expectations — from teamedforlearning.com
Salary transparency laws across many states now require organizations to publish compensation ranges. While this can feel like a burden, the truth is: transparency can dramatically speed up hiring. Candidates self-select, mismatches decrease, and teams save time.
But transparency only works when the salary range itself is grounded in reality. And that’s where many organizations struggle.
Posting a salary range is the easy part.
Determining a fair, defensible range is where the work happens.
Also from Teamed for Learning, see:
Hiring Trends For 2026
The learning industry shifts fast, and this year is no exception. Here’s what’s shaping the hiring landscape right now:
- AI is now a core skill, not a bonus
- Project management is showing up in every job description
- Generalists with business awareness are beating tool-heavy candidates
- Universities and edtech companies are speeding up content refresh cycles
- Hiring budgets are tight – but expectations aren’t easing up