As artificial intelligence (AI) continues its transformative journey across industries, the landscape of corporate Learning and Development (L&D) is inevitably set for major change.
Fosway Group’s latest Digital Learning Realities report on AI found that over 60% of professionals are already seeing at least some impact on their L&D function, and 38% expect it to have a great deal of impact in the future.
As AI creeps its way into our daily ways of working (and our technology), the skills we’re going to need to understand and make use of it are increasingly becoming more important.
In this blog post, we take a look at how the integration of AI is reshaping the skills landscape for corporate L&D professionals. How might the skills of the L&D team change over the coming months and years?
Data analysis and interpretation
Until now, it’s fair to say that L&D has been lagging behind in the data stakes.
A legacy of reliance on SCORM data and completion stats means the general approach hasn’t been over-sophisticated when it comes to elearning analytics (until we launched Kineo Analytics last year of course!).
AI will rapidly increase the amount of data related to learner behaviour, engagement and performance.
L&D professionals will need to enhance their skills in data analysis to derive meaningful insights, identify trends and make data-driven decisions to optimise training programmes.
For many L&D folks, this is an entirely new skill set that they might not have needed before.
AI integration and implementation
Going forward, understanding how to integrate AI technologies into existing learning platforms (or creating new AI-driven learning solutions) will be crucial.
L&D teams will need skills in selecting, implementing and maintaining AI tools that align with their organisation’s training goals.
We’re already seeing a rush of AI-enabled tech solutions flooding the market. Just like selecting the right LMS for your business, or the right learning solution to work with your existing tech stack, L&D teams will need to bolster their technical knowledge. And, more importantly, they will need to know how it relates to their business and learning needs.
Ethical AI decision-making
As AI plays a more significant role in decision-making within the L&D space, professionals must be aware of ethical considerations.
Skills in understanding AI biases, ensuring fairness and making ethical decisions related to AI-driven learning initiatives will be essential.
This will also mean working closely with other teams in the business responsible for your organisational processes and representing the L&D business case. For example, the team who writes the policy for the use of AI will absolutely need to collaborate with L&D colleagues.
Cross-functional collaboration
L&D teams have always needed to work collaboratively with other teams and the rise of AI is only going to increase this need.
From working closely with technical teams to assess AI-driven solutions to communicating effectively to the wider business about the use of AI, there are many opportunities for cross-function collaboration.
L&D professionals will need to work more closely with information security and policy teams to set up the right guardrails internally.
Effective collaboration across the business is going to be more important for L&D teams than ever before.
Final thoughts…
In the ever-changing world of corporate learning, AI is like a cool new teammate. To thrive, L&D teams need to embrace this evolving landscape and develop the skills that are going to matter in the future. This is an exciting time!
Mastering data interpretation, navigating ethical considerations and fostering adaptability will define a new era in corporate L&D.
Find out more about our take on AI, in our guide to the impacts of AI in digital learning.