Introduction

For many in L&D and HR, 2023 is the first 2020s year where the pandemic hasn’t acutely disrupted strategic planning and operations. Yet, Covid-19 has changed organisational life, business needs, and employee expectations forever. Hybrid work appears to be here for the long term, businesses need to develop new capabilities and skills within their workforce in order to drive success, and L&D functions need to understand how digital approaches, in-person learning, the DEI&B agenda, and agile structures all play their part in creating engaging learning experiences that deliver on organisational goals. Indeed, with unpromising economic headwinds, talent acquisition difficulties and technological advancement dominating business agendas, the business reality is challenging and uncertain. However, L&D functions have already shown they can deliver in challenging environments. In 2023, they will need to build on lessons learned in the last couple of years, to create more adaptable, more business-aligned, more data-underpinned learning cultures in what will be another demanding 12 months.