The Future of L&D: AI, Skills Gaps & Staying Relevant in 2026

The Future of L&D: AI, Skills Gaps & Staying Relevant in 2026

L&D is at an inflection point. If you can't articulate the value of learning beyond completion rates and happy sheets, you risk becoming irrelevant in the AI era. In this episode, I sit down with our L&D Shakers [https://www.linkedin.com/company/l-d-shakers/] panel, Andy Sontag [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andysontag/], Milica Sapic [https://www.linkedin.com/in/milicasapic/], Debora Gallo [https://www.linkedin.com/in/deboragallo/], and Lori Niles-Hofmann [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorinileshofmann/], for an honest conversation about what's really happening in learning and development today. From the fear of being replaced by AI tools to rethinking L&D's role from course builders to experienced architects, we explore how leading practitioners are staying relevant, proving business value, and navigating the fastest-changing moment our profession has ever seen. We dig into how L&D teams are closing skills gaps with more precision, what it actually means to design learning as a process rather than an event, and how communities like L&D Shakers are helping practitioners sense-check, connect, and stay sane, before turning to a frank discussion about AI expectations, organizational transformation, and why the backend of learning technology is more important than ever. If you're working in L&D right now, this conversation will challenge you to move beyond delivering training and start architecting experiences that drive real human and business outcomes. Some curious takeaways: * Why treating learning as an event, not a process, is killing your impact * How L&D teams are moving from course builders to experience architects * Why human connection is still the one thing AI cannot replicate Episode highlights: (00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner (01:10) Meet the panelists (03:15) What's keeping L&D up at night right now (07:30) How communities like L&D Shakers keep us sane (08:30) What's actually exciting in L&D today (11:20) The role of the learning architect in the AI era (11:55) Are we really closing skills gaps or just running programs? (19:45) How AI has shifted expectations of L&D teams (22:25) Rethinking L&D from the ground Up (24:45) What stakeholders need to understand about L&D's value (28:10) The role of managers in learning transfer (41:00) One skill every L&D leader needs in the AI era Connect with the guest: Andy Sontag on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andysontag/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andysontag/] Milica Sapic on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milicasapic/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/milicasapic/] Debora Galloon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deboragallo/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/deboragallo/] Lori-Niles-Horman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorinileshofmann/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorinileshofmann/]  Explore 8Levers: https://www.8levers.com/ [https://www.8levers.com/]  Explore Mews: https://www.mews.com/en [https://www.mews.com/en] Explore Kaospilot: https://www.kaospilot.dk/ [https://www.kaospilot.dk/]  Explore Publicis Sapient: https://www.publicissapient.com/ [https://www.publicissapient.com/] Explore Docebo: https://www.docebo.com/ [https://www.docebo.com/]  Follow me on the following sites: Harald Overaa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/]  Subscribe to Harald’s Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/ [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/]

Treating AI as a Partner to Build Workforce Capabilities

The default response to AI in the workplace is a training program. Roll it out, tick the box, and move on. The teams getting real results are doing something fundamentally different. Gabriela Gomez [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielagomeztapia/] and Enrique Ortega Suarez [https://www.linkedin.com/in/enrique-ortega-suarez-b72468b/] did not arrive at their approach through theory. They arrived through practice. As HRD and Head of HR Business Partner at Provident México [https://www.provident.com.mx/], they have been rethinking what genuine AI adoption looks like from inside the organization. For Gabriela, it means building readiness through awareness, experimentation, and employee-shaped feedback before writing a single rule. For Enrique, it means challenging every training request with a harder question: is this a capability problem, a business problem, or a leadership problem. Their shared conviction is simple. Curiosity only turns into capability when people are given the space and the trust to explore. In this episode, I speak with Gabriela and Enrique about what it actually takes to make AI feel learnable rather than intimidating. They share how their team moved from top-down mandates to employee-shaped boundaries, why defaulting to training often means solving the wrong problem entirely, and what it looks like when HR stops operating as a delivery function and starts earning a seat at the table as an enabler partner. For both of them, the distinction is not about which tools you adopt. It is about whether your organization is honest about the problem it is actually trying to solve. Some curious takeaways: * Make AI feel learnable before you make it mandatory * Let employees shape the boundaries through experimentation and feedback * Diagnose whether it is a capability problem before calling it a training problem Episode highlights: (00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner (00:39) How AI changed the way HR business partners operate (01:43) Making AI feel learnable rather than intimidating (03:19) Why training is rarely the real problem (05:11) Diagnosing root causes before jumping to solutions (06:57) From program delivery to owning your organization's capabilities (09:13) Why HR needs to become an enabler partner Connect with the guest: Gabriela Gomez on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielagomeztapia/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielagomeztapia/]  Enrique Ortega Suarez on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/enrique-ortega-suarez-b72468b/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/enrique-ortega-suarez-b72468b/]  Learn more about Provident México: https://www.provident.com.mx/ [https://www.provident.com.mx/]  Follow me on the following sites: Harald Overaa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/]  Subscribe to Harald’s Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/ [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/]

How AI Transforms Customer Education at Scale

Most customer education teams are measuring the wrong things. The ones who are not are already thinking differently about AI. Shawn Dinnocenti [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-d-7abb1b188/] did not arrive at this perspective through theory. She arrived through data. As a customer education leader at Docebo, she has spent years connecting training outcomes to business results, tying knowledge articles to support ticket volume, and turning enrollment numbers into a reason to celebrate with marketing. Her work is grounded in one belief: if you cannot link learning to what actually matters to the business, you will always be on the outside looking in. In this episode, I speak with Shawn about what it looks like when customer education earns a seat at the table. She shares how AI is enabling her team to move customers from adopters to advocates at scale, why outcome-tied enablement works better than training mandates, and what separates the teams who will thrive with AI from those who will end up with the modern equivalent of death by PowerPoint. For Shawn, the distinction is not about the tools you use. It is about whether you are clear on the problem you are trying to solve. Some curious takeaways: * Link every enablement initiative to the outcomes your customers already care about * Let AI surface patterns in your data and act on what is actually working for them * Ask what problem you are solving before deciding if training is even the answer Episode highlights: (00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner (00:52) How AI has shifted the way customer education works (01:45) Taking customers from adopters to advocates at scale (02:36) The storytelling approach that gets people to actually engage (03:01) How electronic badges became a customer education game changer (06:06) Mapping customers with data to drive smarter learning campaigns (08:39) What separates teams getting AI right from the rest Connect with the guest: Shawn Dinnocenti on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-d-7abb1b188/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-d-7abb1b188/] Follow me on the following sites: Harald Overaa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/] Subscribe to Harald’s Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/ [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/]

Building Learning Infrastructure For The AI Era

People are already learning with AI. The question is whether L&D helps shape that learning, or gets left handing out content no one asked for. Mirza Selimovic [https://www.linkedin.com/in/merzudinselimovic/]’s story does not begin in a classroom or a corporate learning team. It begins with resilience. As a refugee from Bosnia, a first-generation graduate, and someone who wrote his dissertation while his newborn son was in the NICU, Mirza brings a deeply human lens to learning, growth, and leadership. In this episode, I speak with Mirza about what happens when L&D stops acting like a content function and starts working closer to the business. His view is grounded in adult learning theory, shaped by real operational pressure, and sharpened by the speed of AI. Learning, for Mirza, is not just an art or a science. It is both, and the best teams know how to hold those two ideas together. Some curious takeaways: * Design learning around real business problems, not requests for more content * Use AI to test, build, and learn faster without losing sight of the human need * Give teams the infrastructure to solve local learning problems with shared guidance Episode highlights: (00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner (00:33) How resilience shaped Mirza’s view of learning (02:18) Writing a doctorate from the NICU (04:28) Finding the path from healthcare to L&D (05:06) Building a corporate university that changed culture (07:32) Why adult learning theory still matters (09:47) What AI is forcing L&D to rethink (11:40) Moving fast without losing business focus (13:41) Why L&D is becoming an enablement architect (16:58) What happens when people learn without L&D Connect with the guest: Dr. Mirza Selimovic, EdD on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merzudinselimovic/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/merzudinselimovic/]  Follow me on the following sites: Harald Overaa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/]  Subscribe to Harald’s Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/ [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/]

From Sugar Pills to Strategy: L&D's AI Wake-Up Call

Most L&D teams are using AI to go faster. The best ones are using it to ask harder questions. Egle Vinauskaite [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinauskaite/] joins me for a conversation that sits at the intersection of AI, performance, and the evolving identity of Learning & Development. Fresh from the keynote stage at Docebo Inspire, she brings both an evidence-based and practical lens to what separates high-performing L&D functions from the rest. That perspective comes through in everything we discuss. In this episode, we look at why so many L&D teams are still treating AI as a small tweak rather than a wholesale shift in how work gets done. Egle reflects on why performance is a systems problem, not a content problem, why the highest-performing L&D leaders think like business leaders first, and what it means for our field when organisations start rolling out AI strategies without us in the room. Some curious takeaways: * AI is changing the work L&D supports, not just the tools L&D uses * The highest-performing L&D leaders think like business leaders, not learning leaders * Solving the obvious problem is often solving the wrong one Episode highlights: (00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner (00:47) What genuinely excites Egle about L&D right now (02:25) How AI tools are enabling deliberate practice (04:41) Moving from course builder to learning architect (05:28) What the organization actually expects from L&D (07:42) The danger of treating AI as just a small tweak (09:36) L&D as investigative journalist and problem solver (10:23) The diagnostic mindset and holistic performance (11:29) What separates high-impact L&D teas in 2-3 years (14:23) The pharmacist vs doctor approach to L&D Connect with the guest: Egle Vinauskaite on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinauskaite/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinauskaite/]  Explore Nodes: https://www.nodes.works/ [https://www.nodes.works/]  Follow me on the following sites: Harald Overaa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/]  Subscribe to Harald’s Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/ [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/]