5 trends from the Learning Conference Stockholm 2026

This year's Learning Conference took place across two days at House of People in Stockholm, 16 to 17 September. It covered keynotes on AI and the economy, case stories from companies including Volvo, IKEA, H&M, Swedbank and Alfa Laval, and a lot of talk about skills, leadership and change.

One question kept coming back. Not "what do people need to know?" but "what needs to change in how people work?"

Here are five trends that stood out.

1. AI use is growing, but adoption is a human process

Donald H Taylor previewed this year's AI in L&D report: 532 responses from 55 countries, with reported AI use up from 42% to 67%. Most of that use is still L&D teams using AI for their own work and content production. Using AI with learners is the next step.

The closing panel on AI adoption, led by Teemu Lilja from Telia, brought together Katarina Noén from Ericsson, Patrik Hedljung from Scania, My Börjeson from Handelsbanken and Nicole Oladuji from Praktikertjänst. Their point was simple. Adoption is not when people start using a tool. It is when the work itself has changed. A tool can be open on every desktop and still change nothing about how decisions get made or how teams solve problems.

The practical advice was human:

• Create space for people to share what they do with AI, because that is where the learning happens.
• Give leaders a safe place to talk to other leaders.
• Ask your team what they have stopped doing, not only which tools they use.

The panel also pushed back on the easy story. AI is not automatically cheaper than people, and cheaper is not the same as better. The value comes from what people do with the tool, not from the tool on its own.