The annual L&D benchmark report recently released by TalentLMS, an award-winning SaaS training vendor, uncovers how four generations of employees view workplace learning and development programs and what they expect from them.
The TalentLMS 2024 Annual L&D Benchmark Report found a generational divide: Millennials are the most satisfied generation with training, with a satisfaction rate of 83%. They are followed by Gen X (78%) and baby boomers (77%). Gen Z trails behind with 75%, while also reporting the highest dissatisfaction rate (13%) among all generations. Gen Z is also the only generation to rank mental health training among its top three development priorities.
Despite high employee satisfaction with training, learning and development programs in companies are far from flawless. The surveyed employees recognized plenty of untapped potential; 63% say the training programs in their company could be improved. In fact, 37% of Gen Z will look for a new job in 2025 if their company doesn’t provide adequate training opportunities.
While 68% of employees are more prepared for the future of work because of the training they’ve received, almost half of employees (49%) say AI is advancing faster than their company’s training programs are keeping up and more than 4 in 10 employees (41%) think that work skills are losing relevance faster due to technological advancements.
Forty-two percent of employees report that AI tools have a positive impact on their skills. But AI’s negative impact, though overall low (5%), looks different for the youngest employees. Gen Z is three times more likely to say that AI harms their skills than Gen X (9% and 3%, respectively), and 2.2 times more than millennials (4%) and baby boomers (4%). The report notes this could indicate an emerging pattern of skill decline in a generation increasingly reliant on AI.
There is also a generational gap in communication. According to the report, 23% of employees find it challenging to communicate with colleagues who aren’t close to their age. For Gen Z, the challenge is greatest, as 33% struggle with cross-generational communication; the youngest workers are three times more likely than baby boomers, 1.5 times more than Gen X, and 1.3 times more than millennials to find it difficult to communicate with different generations at work.
Overall, employees’ top three training priorities for 2025 are leadership and management, soft skills and digital skills — although 23% of employees hesitate to ask for additional training they need because the budget availability is unclear.
