etrainu’s 2026 L&D Ins and Outs

Want to hear our boldest prediction for learning and development for the year ahead? L&D platforms won’t feel like platforms at all. Instead, they’ll feel:
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• Personalised
• Intuitive
• Inspiring
• Insightful

And because we wanted to really explore what this means for learners, here are etrainu’s 2026 Ins and Outs for L&D.

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❌ OUT Buried data

Have you ever felt that you cannot easily see how your team is using your learning platform and engaging with the training? Many of our admins know that this data exists—but where?

Too often, key data is hard to access, buried in exports, or requires additional help. This results in:
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• A lack of visibility into how learners are completing their training, including which courses are most popular and which aren't, and how active learners are
• Missed opportunities to prove to boards, executives, and other stakeholders the value of the training
• Poor adoption issues, which can have serious consequences like non-compliance
• Haphazard data requests and exports, leaving teams feeling stretched thin

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✅ IN Metric Dashboards

Clear, real-time dashboards bring key metrics to the surface of your LMS, giving you quick and easy visibility of completions, enrolments, and login activity.

You’re also going to want to find an LMS that can give you distinct, customised dashboards. For example, in the etrainu LMS, choose from:
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• Platform Dashboard: a high-level organisational snapshot to quickly understand overall performance and trends
• Learner Dashboard: detailed insight into individual learner activity, engagement, and progress
• Course Dashboard: clarity on which courses are performing, how frequently they’re used, and where learners may be dropping off

With these dashboards, you can answer your own questions, identify issues earlier, and make better decisions, without relying on manual reports or engineering support. It gives you the clarity that drives meaningful action.

AVAILABILITY: Dashboards are currently in Beta and will soon be available to all customers on Activate and Perform!

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❌ OUT Manual enrolments 

Put your hand up if you’ve ever been personally tormented by a tedious enrolment process. The one where you have to assign courses one by one and ensure they’re assigned to the right people.

It’s time-consuming, it’s a huge administrative burden, and it creates inconsistencies. Moreover, a manual enrolment process can often mean you have no visibility into learner progression or training program completions. 

In serious cases, there can be a compliance risk due to a lack of proper, recurring training enforcement. 

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✅ IN Automated training pathways (hey, Playlists)

Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency is the motto for 2026. And what better way to be efficient than automating? Playlists are one of the best ways to automate your L&D processes in 2026. 

When you’re heading to work on the bus or train and want to listen to some music, you don’t manually search for every song, one by one, do you? You find a playlist with a range of songs that have already been curated for your listening pleasure. All you need to do is click play.

We believe training should work the same way. With Playlists, you can automate and organise training across your organisation with ease. You can also group courses into custom learning journeys and automatically assign them to learners based on department, role, or start date.

We’re already seeing the impact Playlists are having on our learners. Organisations are saving 15 minutes per onboarding a new employee, all while ensuring employees are receiving the right training each time. Being able to automatically designate training also means courses can be assigned in bulk, completely removing the need for manual intervention.

Users are also utilising Playlists for:
 

• Compliance, as you can generate reports to gain clear oversight of training completion and gaps, while also providing evidence to auditors
• Department-specific training, thanks to highly customisable learning pathways
• Renewals, i.e. recurring training that needs to be completed annually, such as policy and procedural training

Like your music, Playlists run quietly in the background, saving you time and ensuring consistency within your team.

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❌ OUT Dry policy training

Imagine you are the president of a local football club, and a 17-year-old player says they’re interested in becoming a volunteer referee. As an official, they need to be familiar with all the rules of the game to ensure they oversee games fairly and apply the rules correctly. 

To train them up, you hand them a 250-page PDF of the rules. All they need to do is memorise the PDF, and they’ll be one step closer to becoming a referee. Easy, right?

Not quite. Lengthy PDFs or documents are not substitutes for effective training. Yes, policy and procedural training can be tricky, as it’s important that all employees know what’s required of them. But the answer does not sit in reading documents cover to cover. 

Learners want applicable scenarios, examples, and interactivity that help them see how the policies apply in real-life situations. Training needs to be fit for purpose.

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✅ IN AI-powered course creation

When in Rome, do as the Romans do, right? And in the AI age, you cannot afford to overlook how it can transform your L&D programs.

AI Course Authoring allows you to build and create courses without leaving the LMS. Plus, with a range of templates to choose from, you too can craft beautifully-designed courses like the ones you know and love at etrainu.

Why is this a great idea?
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• Turn your policies and procedures into engaging, targeted training to truly help your employees understand their responsibilities
• Build courses in-platform without having to leave the LMS or license a third-party solution
• It’s easy: simply upload a document and give the AI Agent prompts on what the course should look like, or create a course from scratch
• You can brand your course, ensuring it looks and feels like your organisation with your own logo and imagery
• You can even translate courses into other languages, which can make things easier for your employees, especially if English is their second language

Make courses in minutes and turn your L&D process into a dynamic one.

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❌ OUT One-size-fits-all learning platforms

Sure, standardised learning platforms take some of the burden off managers and help provide consistent training pathways. But they don’t feel personal. 

Learners subconsciously want an LMS that feels relevant to their role, their progress, and their priorities. They also want a learning environment that makes it easier for them to learn and keep track of their credentials. They’re seeking a connection with their training. 

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✅ IN Personalised learning platforms

So how can you create a personal, user-friendly experience for your team? The answer lies in a powerful platform that allows your team to play at work.

With the Activate Home Page, you can make an LMS that feels like home. We can style your LMS with your brand, incorporating your logo and colours so learners immediately feel connected from the moment they log in. And, you can upload your own policies, procedures, and course content to give your learners a central hub for learning and information.

‍Skills Passport and Digital Credentials help keep your team motivated, providing an easy, accessible location to view certificates of completion and other achievements. Gamification also comes into play, with Digital Credentials providing a fun and engaging experience for learners to celebrate achievements and tick off training requirements.

And of course, all Activate tiers come with access to Playlists, Dashboards, and the AI Authoring Tool—fully immersing your team in their learning journey.

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❌ OUT Overloaded with content

Yes, being spoiled for choice is a thing. So is decision fatigue. 

Having access to a comprehensive library with 100+ learning assets is a good thing, but it can also be challenging for L&D teams to determine which courses are relevant to their employees. Where do they begin? Where do they end?

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✅ IN Targeted bundles of training content

We’re not waiting for winter to bundle up. 

Think of it this way: when you’re grabbing a meal, you’re seeking what can give you the best value. A burger on its own sounds delicious. But a meal deal bundle? Even better. You can get a burger, chips, and a drink for a great price. And if you’re feeding your family, you can also get a bundle that will give each member of your family a burger, some chips, and a drink. Whether choosing a single bundle or a family size, there’s something for everyone.

Similarly, training bundles can give you and your team the best value. For example, if you’re looking for NDIS training, our Disability Essentials eLibrary meets your needs. It’s comprehensive, exploring a broad range of topics, but it’s not what our learners are looking for.

That’s where our Disability Core and Pro bundles come in. These bundles are designed to more closely align with the actual needs and expectations of care and support workers.
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Disability Core

This Core Bundle brings together 30 of our most popular courses from NDS Workforce Essentials and the full Complex Care eLibrary, along with access to our off-the-shelf LMS. It equips learners with the foundational skills they need to work safely, communicate effectively, and provide confident, person-centred support every day.

What’s included:
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• Disability Essentials
• Complex Care Essentials

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Disability Pro

The Disability Pro Bundle includes both Disability Essentials and Complex Care Essentials, plus our Mental Health and Autism eLibraries.

Providing deeper, more specialised support for diverse needs. This bundle is delivered through our advanced LMS, Activate.

What’s included:
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• Disability Essentials
• Complex Care Essentials
• Mental Health eLibrary
• Autism eLibrary
• Activate LMS

Whether you choose Core or Pro, these bundles give your team a complete “meal deal” of training.

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Our takeaway? Learning and development in 2026 will focus on delivering meaningful experiences for learners. Training will be automated. Data will be visible. Content will be purposeful. The shift is here, and it’s here to stay. Welcome to L&D in 2026.