There is currently a lot of focus on the importance of Learning and Development, both within organisations and at the political level. In Belgium, this focus is translated into the concept of individual learning accounts, where the Partnership Lifelong Learning has been given the task of turning Flanders into a learning society and an action plan called ‘Koers zetten naar een lerend Vlaanderen’ has been developed. In addition, in Brussels and Wallonia, there is also a focus on introducing a learning account and a reform of Paid Educational Leave, with the aim of motivating more people to keep learning.
In the Netherlands, since 1 March 2022, there has been the STAP subsidy, or Stimulering ArbeidsmarktPositie, an inclusive instrument that replaces the former tax deduction for training costs and under which any Dutch person can apply for €1000 a year for retraining provided a few conditions are met. This was done because research showed that ‘less well-off and less educated people’ did not use the tax benefit and were therefore short-changed.
The focus on Learning and Development at policy level is a response to numerous challenges that companies and organisations face in a labour market characterised by structural shortages and rapidly changing needs for skills and competences. Training is therefore sometimes seen as the new recruitment. It is an instrument to achieve sustainable careers, growth and innovation in companies and a higher participation rate in the labour market. Moreover, training contributes indirectly to the well-being and wellbeing of employees.
This paper summarises key findings from the annual survey ‘Trends in learning & development in organisations’. This survey is a reference in L&D and surveys the broad L&D community in Belgium and the Netherlands, including internal L&D professionals from companies and organisations in the private and public sector, and L&D providers. Their answers have resulted in a unique report with valuable insights on how companies, organisations and their providers view (the future of) L&D.