At the 2025 Business of Training Conference, Gaëlle Watson reports on an industry redefining its purpose. With trust, outcomes and business impact essential, L&D professionals are being challenged to adapt their approach, collaborate and prove their value or risk being left behind in a world of changing work and demands.
The 2025 Business of Training Conference from Inmisceo once again gathered an eclectic mix of leaders: from management development specialists to niche providers in aviation and healthcare, united by a common challenge of how to create and demonstrate value in a rapidly changing landscape. With the theme “Value is back” delegates were invited on a journey to rethink, reconnect, and reimagine the business of learning.
This year the conference invited us to go on a journey where we challenge the status quo
Across sessions and discussions, one thread was consistent: the ability to demonstrate value has become non-negotiable. For buyers, value now extends beyond completion rates or satisfaction scores: it’s about evidence that learning leads to measurable business outcomes.
This year the conference invited us to go on a journey, an adventure where we challenge the status quo and step out of our comfort zone to face storms, uncertainty and possibly danger. Both speakers and the audience share the thought that the industry is changing fast and those who stand still may be left behind.
Being able to demonstrate value
On stage and at the tables there were varied views on what values means for different learning stakeholders. It was acknowledged that there are no one-size-fits-all solutions or metrics. However, the importance of metrics in the buying process is ever more essential at time where budgets are tight and training often seen as a cost centre rather than a value centre.
Delivering impact to the business
Speakers such as Stella Collins, Melanie Martinelli, Erica Farmer and Paul Matthews reminded us that delivering impact requires partnership. Their provocation to the sector:
- Ask L&D buyers “How do you know a program has been fully successful?”
- Ask the learners what are going the biggest barrier to transfer?
- How are Large Language Models going to support the process?
Building trust and connecting
The buyer panel’s honesty was a standout moment. Procurement leaders were clear: they want to work with partners who understand their context, not transactional opportunists. Trust, they argued, is what transforms a supplier relationship into a true collaboration. And collaboration is what ultimately delivers measurable value.
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Setting sail
Are we in the business of delivering training or are we a part of a collective team working on solving a business problem? I love Laura Overton’s conclusion: We are building islands of success, and we need to connect them to develop a larger and stronger ecosystem of learning.
It’s a journey where we don’t always know what we will be facing and how to deal with it. It won’t be perfect, but like the ancient societies of navigators crossing between small islands across the pacific, it is essential to know the destination even when you don’t see it. The crew with us on the boat will bring diversity and experience to overcome the challenges and it is within the communities and the trust we grow that we get succeed!
Gaëlle Watson is Learning Experience Director and Founder at SyncSkills Performance
