The Next Gains in VILT Start With Seeing the Full Picture
The State of Live Virtual Training in 2026: Overcoming Barriers to Training Success, produced in partnership with Training magazine, is packed with insights from 545 L&D professionals across industries. And it paints a vivid picture of where virtual instructor-led training (VILT) stands today.
The good news: live virtual training has earned its place, with organizations of all shapes and sizes building it into the fabric of how they train and develop their people. But with adoption firmly established, learning teams are turning their attention to a new challenge: gaining real visibility into what's happening before, during, and after every session.
Here's a peek at what you'll find inside the report:
- VILT is foundational to modern training: 98% of organizations now use virtual instructor-led training, and 40% rely on it for at least half of their programs, reflecting how central live virtual learning has become across new employee onboarding, leadership development, and ongoing training.
- Opportunities for improvement are clear: 79% of organizations describe their VILT programs as moderately successful, indicating meaningful value today. Only 21% report the highest levels of success, highlighting opportunity to strengthen consistency, engagement, and impact.
- Visibility across stages of learning matters: L&D leaders point to gaps in visibility before sessions begin, during live instruction, and after sessions end as a key challenge. Limited insight across these moments makes it harder to improve engagement, support instructors, and build on what’s working.
