- A quarterly trend report for corporate training managers. It starts from field data, not summaries of market news.
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TREND REPORT
📊 Corporate Training Trend Reports
Reports for corporate training managers. They start from real training inquiries and field data, not summaries of market news.
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VOL. 02
2026
Q3
Q3
NANUM CONSULTING
Orders Weren’t Lost, Just Deferred: Anatomy of the Summer 2026 Corporate Training Gap
Training orders fell in July–August 2026, but the answer is 'deferral,' not lost demand. Five causes of the lull and what to prepare for Sept–Dec.
- HR budget growth is projected to plunge from 2.4% in 2025 to 0.7% in 2026, according to a Gartner survey of about 300 CFOs; and 1 in 4 large corporations expected to cut training budgets (Korea Productivity Center, 2025 budget outlook survey)
- Global indicators point the same way — in ATD’s survey, per-employee training spending fell from $1,254 to $846, yet learning hours actually rose from 13.7 to 16.7: a phase of tightening money while keeping learning volume
- The government raised its July growth forecast from 2.0% to 3.0%, but the gain is concentrated in semiconductors. With oil-driven production costs surging, consumer sentiment plunging in April, and two base rate hikes expected in the second half, companies outside semiconductors are in SG&A cost-cutting mode
- AI and DX training demand grew roughly threefold year over year, to about 290% of the prior level (Korean Standards Association), yet on the ground the verdict is 'we took the training but can’t use it at work.' This is a transition period in which the unit of purchase shifts from a single special lecture to a diagnose–execute–verify framework
- A three-way split into in-house development, outsourcing, and government-funded programs — the intensive AI and digital course for in-service workers grows from 11,683 participants at 30 universities in 2025 to around 38 universities in 2026, with enrollment in new programs opening from August–September onward
- Nanum’s own data: not canceled, but 'pending approval': new sales opportunities kept coming in through the summer, and the share closed as rejected or lost is in line with prior years. Only the share of contracts confirmed within 45 days of registration fell, from about 22–48% in prior years to 5% for June registrations
- Conclusion — The summer 2026 gap is deferral, not lost demand. Now is the time to submit approval requests in August, plan around a “diagnose–execute–verify” structure rather than one-off talks, and split the work in two: public channels for fundamentals, customized programs for execution
VOL. 01
2026
Q3
Q3
NANUM CONSULTING
Where Is Corporate Training Budget Moving? A Map of 2026 Demand
Worldwide, corporate training budgets are shifting from developing a few specialists to building baseline skills for every employee, and from adopting tools to making them stick and measuring results. Drawing on surveys, policies, and market signals from Korea and abroad, we map seven trends showing where training budgets are heading in the second half of 2026.
- 72% of business leaders name AI literacy a core skill for everyday work. AI is moving from a specialist skill to a baseline skill for every employee (DataCamp, survey of about 500 leaders)
- AI skill requirements in US job postings rose 144% in a year, and the World Economic Forum projects that 39% of core skills will change by 2030
- The question has shifted from 'Should we run AI training?' to 'Should we build in-house, outsource, or use government funding?' — and curricula are moving from 'using' to 'executing'
- Walmart has launched AI certification for all 2.1 million employees — the unit of company-wide reskilling has moved from departments to everyone
- With 87% of L&D teams already using AI, the next battleground is not content but measurement — the new metric is 'on-the-job use,' not 'completion rate'
- Policy funding is targeted too — the US is directing it to workforce development in strategic industries such as AI, while Korea covers 90%+ of training costs for 2,952 AI convergence programs for SMEs
- Nanum’s own data — AI accounts for 32.6% of 411 sales opportunities (one in three), with a 59% win rate in line with the overall average: AI training is real demand, not exploratory inquiries
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FAQ
Key takeaways
How often are reports published?
We publish once a quarter. New issues appear at the top of the list.
What sources do the reports draw on?
We cross-check domestic and international surveys, policy announcements, and market coverage to establish the macro picture first, then add our own course records and training inquiry data as supporting evidence.
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Read the full text without signing up, and cite it freely with attribution. Each report ends with citation guidelines.