Dive Brief:
- Workers take learning and development seriously, a recent report found. Seventy-three percent of employees surveyed by TalentLMS said that training would make them stay at their job longer.
- In the firm’s 2026 Annual L&D Benchmark Report published Dec. 2, 35% explicitly said that a lack of training opportunities would make them look for another job.
- Despite how workers view L&D as important, many believe work itself is holding progress back. Of the 101 U.S. HR managers and 1,000 employees surveyed, roughly half of learning leaders and employees alike said that there’s little room for training specifically due to high workloads — even when the training is much needed.
Dive Insight:
This is far from the first time that training has been linked to retention. Even when retention has been driven by other factors — such as the shaky economy creating an employers’ market — experts have encouraged HR to embrace the lack of attrition by revamping L&D at their company.
Not only does L&D help existing employees, but it can also attract prospective employees. Many business leaders have noted that access to innovative tech and career development is just as important as a strong workplace culture, especially when it comes to employer branding.
Training, in fact, “is no longer a ‘nice to have,’ but a business necessity,” TalentLMS said. Nearly all HR managers surveyed said that better training and skill development improve employee retention.
The demand for more training is not limited to workers: Talent professionals want to learn new skills, too, according to a Dec. 2 report from the Association for Talent Development. In particular, most talent development professionals said they wanted more training in data analysis.
