Halloween might be just around the corner, but for some L&D teams, the scariest thing right now is probably their project list.
Between managing learning platforms, developing new content, keeping up with requests from across the business and trying to work out where AI fits into everything, there’s a lot going on. And that’s before someone announces a new system rollout or decides the onboarding programme needs a complete overhaul!
None of this is particularly unusual for L&D. What’s becoming more difficult is finding the time, budget and people to deal with it all.
The expectations haven’t got any smaller
There was an interesting interview with Fosway Group’s David Perring published by Learning Technologies in September, looking at the state of L&D in 2026.
One of the key themes was sustained pressure on internal digital learning teams. According to Fosway’s research, one in four L&D teams have experienced budget cuts this year, with further pressure on headcount expected.
At the same time, businesses are looking to AI to help learning teams work more efficiently. There’s certainly potential there, but adopting new technology takes time in itself, particularly if you’re also trying to figure out how to use it properly.
It’s a difficult balance…learning teams need to find ways to do things differently, but the people who would normally lead that work are often already occupied with delivering everything else.
And there’s the wider question of whether the learning being delivered is actually what the business needs.
Research from 360Learning, covered by Personnel Today earlier this month, found that 52% of L&D professionals struggle to identify learning needs, while 46% struggle to measure the impact of learning.
That’s a fairly significant challenge when there’s already pressure to justify every pound being spent!
The skills gap within L&D itself
There’s another finding from Fosway’s research worth paying attention to: only a third of learning teams believe they have the skills required to be successful over the next two to three years.
It’s not difficult to see why.
The capabilities required within L&D are changing: AI, data, systems integration and increasingly complex learning platforms are all creating new demands, often requiring expertise that traditional learning teams haven’t necessarily needed before.
Of course, existing professionals can develop these skills. But training people takes time, and that can be difficult to find when the same people are responsible for delivering current projects.
There’s also a difference between a temporary requirement for specialist expertise and a capability that needs to sit permanently within the business.
An experienced Instructional Designer might be able to support an LMS implementation, for example. But that doesn’t necessarily make them the right person to manage the technical migration, integration and testing.
Trying to cover every requirement with the people already available can leave teams stretched, particularly when several projects are running at once.
When transformation adds another layer of complexity
This is especially relevant in Higher Education, where digital transformation programmes often involve multiple departments, legacy systems and a considerable amount of stakeholder coordination.
Universities are also working within a challenging financial environment. The Office for Students’ May 2026 financial sustainability report found that 35.8% of English higher education institutions reported a deficit in 2024-25, with 42.7% forecast to do so in 2025–26.
Against that backdrop, finding the resources for major technology programmes is understandably difficult.
A VLE migration or digital assessment implementation, for instance, might require Business Analysts during planning, technical specialists during implementation and change professionals to support adoption.
The skills needed at the beginning aren’t necessarily the ones needed six months later.
It’s something we explore in our upcoming guide, Building the Team Behind Higher Education Transformation, which looks at the roles and capabilities required at different stages of a programme, along with common resourcing mistakes.
We’re sharing advance copies with HE organisations planning digital or technology transformation projects. Get in touch if you’d like to request one.
Getting the right support at the right time
With all these competing demands, it’s worth looking beyond whether a team is simply ‘busy’.
Is the workload consistently too high? Are certain projects being delayed because specialist skills aren’t available? Or is the pressure concentrated around a particular implementation or period of change?
The distinction matters when deciding how to resource a team.
If there’s an ongoing need for more learning design capacity, permanent recruitment could be the right option. But for a defined project, such as an LMS migration, digital content development programme or systems integration, contract specialists can provide support without creating a permanent role.
That might mean bringing in a Learning Technologist for a platform upgrade or an Instructional Designer to help tackle a content backlog.
It also means existing team members can spend more time doing the work they’re best placed to deliver, rather than continually being pulled into unfamiliar areas.
As L&D teams plan for 2027, understanding where those gaps are likely to appear could save considerable pressure further down the line.
At Instinct, we support organisations with permanent and contract recruitment across digital learning, learning technology and transformation. If you’re reviewing your team’s capacity or planning a new project, speak to our team about the expertise you might need.
Because nobody wants a project backlog following them into the new year.
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