AI, Skills & Business Impact: What We Learnt From the Discussion

What happens when a group of L&D pros get together to talk AI, skills and business impact? Honest takes, real-life challenges, and some seriously useful reflections.

Hosted by Donald H. Taylor (author of the Global Sentiment Survey) and Nelson Sivalingam (Co-Founder and CEO of HowNow), this session brought together insights from both industry research and on-the-ground experience.

If you missed our recent webinar, don’t worry, we’ve wrapped up the key talking points right here (but trust us, it’s worth watching the full thing too).
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The data dilemma: We’ve got questions… but not always answers

One of the biggest themes? Data. Or rather, the lack of it.‍

It’s tough to demonstrate the value of learning when you’re not measuring the right things or anything at all. Soft skills, behavioural shifts, and learning transfer are especially hard to track, and many organisations just don’t have the systems (or confidence!) to collect useful, relevant insight.

We heard things like:

• “Our systems don’t talk to each other.”
  
• “We’re tracking content, not outcomes.”
  
• “Even when we do have data, it’s hard to prove impact across the business.”
  
  

There’s also a skills gap in L&D itself when it comes to data, knowing where to start, what to measure, and how to speak the language of the business. And let’s be honest, it’s easy to get flustered when someone throws a KPI curveball your way.
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Content ≠ Learning (and the business still isn’t getting it)

Another familiar story: teams asking for training, rolling it out, ticking the box, and moving on. But where’s the application? Where’s the change?

There’s still a massive gap between delivering learning and embedding it into the day-to-day. Too often, L&D is treated as a one-off intervention, not an ongoing journey. And because business-as-usual tasks take priority, learning ends up being the first thing cut.

One fab suggestion? Let’s borrow from leadership and try a bit of “Learning By Walking Around” (LBWA) embedding learning into everyday work, not keeping it tucked away in a central team.
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L&D value is a moving target

One person’s idea of value isn’t always the same as another’s. What L&D sees as successful might look completely different to a manager or exec. And that misalignment? It's a major blocker.

Here’s what came up:

• Organisations focus on the cost of training, not the savings that come from better performance.
• L&D needs to be clearer and more confident in defining what success looks like and linking it back to business goals.
• Leaders play a crucial role in reinforcing behaviours and encouraging learning transfer.
  
  

We loved this reflection: “We know our vision. We know our KPIs. We know the skills needed. Now we’ve embedded learning into performance, career growth and project success thanks to a supportive exec team.” That’s the dream!
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AI in L&D

“We’ve been conditioned to think learning happens in long courses. But AI is showing us how powerful just-in-time learning can be.” Nelson.

AI is changing faster than most learning plans can keep up. Most training is still long-form and static and doesn’t keep pace with the rapid shifts happening across roles, tools and tech.

“We talk about upskilling, but let’s not forget about reskilling. That’s where the AI conversation gets real for many job roles.” Nelson Sivalingam, HowNow CEO.

The takeaway? We need to be more agile, more reactive, and ready to upskill in the flow of work. That means building learning cultures that support just-in-time learning, not just scheduled courses.

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Final thought

L&D isn’t just about delivering content. It’s about driving behaviour change, influencing business outcomes, and helping people build the skills they need for today and tomorrow. That means:

• Getting comfortable with data (even the messy kind).
• Working closer with the business to align goals.
• Embedding learning into real work, not just side projects.
• And most of all, being brave enough to challenge old ways of doing things.
  
  

Fancy diving into the full conversation? It’s all here. 👇
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