Free learning & development webinars for October 2026
/Wrong month? Check out our latest list of free L&D webinars.
Fall brings focus. If you’re craving structure or just looking to level up before year-end, October’s lineup is here for you. Smart, actionable and seasonal — no pumpkin spice required.
Thursday, October 1, 2026, 8 a.m.–9 a.m. PT: AI Coaching for Frontline Managers: Practicing Hard Conversations Before They Happen
On the frontline, strong employees get promoted into management, often based on who’s available rather than who’s ready. You’ll hear from three leaders who know this problem firsthand. Christy Fritch runs learning operations at Giant Eagle, building manager readiness across a large retail frontline. JD Dillon is a veteran L&D leader and Disney alum who has spent 25 years building learning and support solutions for deskless teams. James Cross advises the world’s largest companies on talent strategy and leads Tenor, the AI platform for workforce excellence. Together they’ll show how to help managers practice the conversations that matter most.
Thursday, October 1, 2026, 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PT: AI Coaching and Leadership Development: Building Leaders for an AI-Augmented Workforce
As organizations accelerate AI adoption, leadership development must evolve beyond traditional programs to provide leaders with real-time practice, personalized feedback and support in the flow of work. In this session, Dr. Marline C. Duroseau, Managing Director of HR and Leadership at Brandon Hall Group, will explore how AI coaching can help organizations expand access to leadership development while preserving the human judgment, empathy, ethics and trust leaders need most. You’ll examine where AI can strengthen leadership capability, where human oversight remains essential and how HR leaders can responsibly integrate AI coaching into leadership development strategy. You’ll learn how to think about AI coaching as a capability accelerator, not a replacement for human leadership.
Tuesday, October 6, 2026, 9 a.m.–10 a.m. PT: Designing Interactions That Drive Learning, Not Just Engagement
Great interactions do more than keep learners clicking; they help learners think, decide, practice and apply. In this webinar, Sharath Ramaswamy, Principal Learning Evangelist at Adobe Systems, will explore how instructional designers can move beyond interactions that simply add visual interest and instead create experiences that support meaningful learning outcomes. Through practical examples, discover how to design interactions that encourage active participation, reinforce key concepts, provide purposeful feedback and give learners opportunities to practice skills in context.
Tuesday, October 6, 2026, 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PT: The Future of Financial Wellness: Inside the Shift From Education to Outcomes
Join Joelie Vail, CRO of BrightPlan, and Dr. Marline C. Duroseau, Managing Director of HR and Leadership at Brandon Hall Group, for a state-of-the-market look at where financial wellness stands today and where it’s headed next: the forces reshaping the category, a framework to benchmark your own organization and an analyst outlook on what’s coming, from an “AI intelligence race” among platforms to financial wellness shifting from a standalone app to a connected part of the benefits and HR technology employees already use. Real-world proof points from BrightPlan ground it all in what’s already working.
Tuesday, October 6, 2026, 12 p.m.–1 p.m. PT: The Shift from Transactional to Transformational Learning Experiences
As technology makes information and learning available instantly, the value of great facilitation is changing. Simply delivering content is no longer enough. Join Moe Poirier, Founding Partner of Shift Facilitation, and Megan Torrance, CEO and Founder of TorranceLearning, for a practical exploration of what today’s facilitators need to create learning experiences that people can’t get from content alone: connection, participation, trust and meaningful human interaction. Moe will share ideas from his new book, The Five Personas of Facilitation: Elevate Your Training Delivery Strengths and Style.
Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PT: Like It or Not, AI Is Driving the Transformation of Learning and Development
David Wentworth, Managing Director of Learning and Talent at Brandon Hall Group, will explore the practical and strategic ways AI is transforming corporate L&D. You’ll discover how AI-powered tools are enabling organizations to identify skills gaps in real time, recommend targeted learning interventions, and adapt content to individual learner needs and pace. You’ll examine how generative AI is streamlining course design and content creation, dramatically reducing the time and cost traditionally required to build training materials, while conversational AI and chatbots are providing on-demand coaching and support that extends learning beyond formal training sessions.
Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. PT: A Fireside Chat with Veridian Credit Union on Their Approach to Virtual Training (Free for ATD members)
Getting staff to a central location for a few days works for one group at a time, but it’s expensive, pulls them away from serving members and doesn’t scale as the branch network grows. In this fireside chat, Sarah Collins, Manager of Learning and Development at Veridian Credit Union, and Class’ Daniel Hansen, VP of Corporate Learning, and Russell Teter, Chief Operating Officer, will discuss how they approach training across a dispersed network, the challenges they’re solving and learnings along the way. You’ll also get a short look at Class, the virtual classroom solution Veridian’s team uses to keep training consistent across every branch.
Thursday, October 8, 2026, 9 a.m.–10 a.m. PT: Building Flip Cards, Tabs and Branching Scenarios in Claude Design
Flip cards, tabs, accordions, branching scenarios. These are the interactions we reach for constantly, and building them usually means opening an authoring tool, wrestling with a template and hoping it looks the way you pictured it. Most of the time, you settle for what the tool makes easy. In this session, Dr. Pooja Jaisingh, Founder and CEO of Digital Learning Nook, will build interactions directly in Claude Design and show how they come together, get refined and end up in a course. You’ll see how quickly a rough idea turns into something you can click through, and where this fits alongside the authoring tools you already use.
Thursday, October 8, 2026, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. PT: Beyond Content: Creating Human Connection in the Training Room (Free for ATD members)
Learners have never had more access to information, yet many feel increasingly disconnected from one another. At the same time, facilitators are being asked to deliver learning experiences that drive engagement, participation, and lasting impact. Join Moe Poirier, Founding Partner of Shift Facilitation, to explore how facilitators move beyond subject matter expertise and content delivery. Discover how your natural strengths help participants feel seen, heard, understood and valued. Uncover practical approaches to creating human connection, increasing engagement and delivering learning experiences that leave a lasting impact.
Thursday, October 8, 2026, 12 p.m.–1 p.m. PT: Applying a Systems-Based OD Approach to Learning
Organizations invest heavily in learning, yet many initiatives fall short of delivering lasting behaviour change and measurable business results. The difference isn’t the quality of the training — it’s how well learning is aligned with the organization’s strategy, leadership, culture and processes. In this webinar, with Institute of Organization Development’s Dr. Nancy Zentis, CEO, and Patsy Keating, OD Consultant and Facilitator, you’ll discover how a systems-based Organization Development (OD) approach helps transform learning into a strategic driver of organizational performance.
Friday, October 9, 2026, 8 a.m.–9 a.m. PT: Turning Stakeholders Into True Strategic Partners (Even the Tough Ones) (Free for ATD members)
Are stakeholders still treating your team like order takers? Shifting perceptions from transactional support to strategic partner is essential, but not always easy. In this session, Jess Almlie, Learning Leader and Strategist at Almlie Consulting, will show you how to use the Strategic Business Partner Grid to define how stakeholders currently see your team, and identify ways to strengthen relationships and build credibility. Learn practical strategies to increase business knowledge, reframe resistance and shift even tough stakeholders toward true partnership. Leave with tools and insights you can apply immediately.
Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 8 a.m.–9 a.m. PT: What 70-20-10 Gets Right and What Modern Learning Needs Next
For decades, the 70-20-10 model has shaped how organizations think about employee learning, but today’s learner experience is far more complex than when the model was introduced. In this webinar, Tom Whelan, Ph.D., Director of Research at Training Industry, will examine the enduring strengths of the classic framework and explore where contemporary learning practices have expanded beyond it. You’ll discover how organizations are blending formal training, social learning and experiential development, and how to apply those approaches to make your own training programs more impactful.
Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 9 a.m.–10 a.m. PT: Making the Complex Simple: How Story, Simulation and AI Transform Systems Training
Systems training has a bad reputation. It’s usually synonymous with endless screen captures, dry “click Next” instructions and zero engagement. In this case study, Garima Gupta, Founder and CEO of Arthan Learning, will walk you through how she turned a complex software rollout into an award-winning learning experience by seamlessly stitching together storytelling, high-fidelity simulations and AI-driven interactions. You’ll see how Garima transformed a technical manual into a human-centred journey that staff actually praised.
Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 12 p.m.û1 p.m. PT: Lowering the Cost of Instructor-Led Training
Instructor-led training is where the most important training happens, but it’s also incredibly expensive. Join John Peebles, CEO of Administrate, and Char Noland, VP of Solution Consulting at Cloudshare, to learn how training operations and environmental overhead drive these costs up and how you can get them under control. This webinar is for any training manager who’s responsible for delivering instructor-led training, in person or virtually — especially training teams delivering training in virtual environments.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. PT: Don’t Hold People Accountable; Develop Accountable People (Free for ATD members)
Forget outdated, heavy-handed performance management approaches that breed confusion and resentment. This webinar, with Mitch Warner, Managing Partner of The Arbinger Institute, will flip the script, exposing why traditional approaches simply don’t work and revealing a radical, game-changing alternative: cultivating accountability as critical to a job, not an ancillary component. You’ll walk away with the tools to ignite a culture where ownership is non-negotiable, employees are empowered and systems drive accountability effortlessly — no babysitting required.
Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 9 a.m.–10 a.m. PT: The Business of Learning
This phrase is increasingly popular, and the concept is very important, but what does it really mean? Should you manage your programs and run your learning department like a business? How would it help you? Is it worth the effort? Join David Vance, Author and Educator, for answers to these questions. You’ll explore:
What it means to run learning like a business.
The benefits of adopting this way of managing L&D.
Three steps you can take to start running learning like a business.
Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 12 p.m.–1 p.m. PT: Agentic AI, Demonstrated: The New Baseline for Learner Expectations
Join Allen Partridge, Ph.D., Director of Digital Learning Evangelism at Adobe Digital Learning Solutions, and Adobe’s Justin Seeley, Learning Evangelist, Sharah Ramaswamy, Senior Elearning Evangelist, and Alistair Lee, Principal Evangelist, to watch how Adobe Learning Manager’s Agentic AI architecture and tools actively:
Create instructionally sound courses from scratch using natural conversation with AI.
Build personalized learning journeys based on learner goals, skills, role, and proficiency.
Enable learners to practice real-world conversations and receive AI-powered coaching and feedback.
Deliver answers, recommendations, reporting insights and learning support through natural conversations.
Reduce manual admin effort with intelligent support for tasks, reporting and operations.
Thursday, October 15, 2026, 12 p.m.–1 p.m. PT: Building Bench Strength: Putting Training in the Driver’s Seat
Building bench strength is taken for granted in professional sports. Owners and coaches plan for injuries that can put their ace pitcher, quarterback, guard or goalie out of commission. It’s rarely seen that business leaders exercise the same degree of talent planning. As training professionals, you’re in a unique position to help. You can guide leaders in identifying positions, that if not filled with competent people would put the organization at risk. Join Judith Hale, Ph.D., President of Hale Associates, and leave with a useable, eCAP framework for helping clients better define their talent needs. The framework forces the questions of who, how many, how soon and at what cost.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 9 a.m.–10 a.m. PT: Training Leaders to Coach as Your True Reinforcement Partners
Training sticks when leaders become reinforcement partners — not compliance checkers. This session will teach how to train leaders to coach employees post-training with consistency, empathy and focus. Using Progress Coaching’s model, you’ll learn the core competencies leaders need to translate training concepts into workplace actions and ongoing dialogue. Tim Hagen, President and Chief Coaching Officer at Progress Coaching, will unpack how to transform leaders from information deliverers to development partners. By equipping them with the right coaching tools and cadence, organizations can ensure every training session translates to performance, engagement and accountability.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 12 p.m.–1 p.m. PT: L&D in the Era of AI: A Discussion – Round 2
In July, four leading voices in modern Talent Development, Becky Willis, CEO of Tractus Learning, Tracie Cantu, CEO of YourCLO, Debbie Richards, Chief Learning Advisor at Cognota, and Betty Dannewitz, Founder and CEO of ifyouaskbetty, came together to discuss L&D in the Era of AI. The conversation generated so much discussion that they ran out of time, so they’re continuing it. This time, they’ll focus on the practical side: how L&D can become a stronger strategic business partner, and where AI and technology can help accelerate that shift. The first conversation sparked a lively discussion and an even livelier chat. Join this session for round two.
Monday, October 26, 2026, 11:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. PT: Fast Individuals, Slow Decisions: The AI Leadership Gap (Free for ATD members)
AI is making individuals faster than ever, but is it making cross-functional decisions harder? Join Jonathan Schneider, Product Director at Abilitie, for a fast-paced 30-minute demo of Abilitie’s newest Case Challenge, a simulation that drops leaders into a matrixed organization where AI has boosted output but strained alignment across teams. See firsthand how Abilitie’s award-winning simulations turn AI’s speed into a leadership advantage instead of a liability.
Tuesday, October 27, 2026, 8 a.m.–9 a.m. PT: From Copilot to Agent: How Agentic AI Is Reinventing Recruiting
The first wave of AI adoption helped recruiters create content, search for candidates and automate individual tasks. Now, agentic AI is beginning to coordinate workflows, initiate actions and support decisions across the recruiting process. Heidi Grecsek, Managing Director of Human Capital Management at Brandon Hall Group, will explore what the move from AI assistants to AI agents means for TA organizations, recruiters and technology strategies. You’ll examine how organizations are applying agentic capabilities to sourcing, screening, candidate engagement, scheduling and decision support, as well as the data, governance and human oversight required to use them effectively.
Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 9 a.m.–10 a.m. PT: Turn Learner Actions Into Meaningful Experiences with Triggers
Discover how to make learning experiences more dynamic, responsive and engaging with Triggers. As an instructional designer, you’re always looking for ways to move beyond “click Next” experiences and make learning feel more engaging and purposeful. In this webinar, with Sharath Ramaswamy, Senior Elearning Evangelist at Adobe, discover how Triggers let you turn everyday learner actions like clicking an object, making a choice or completing an interaction into meaningful responses. See how you can use them to create branching scenarios, provide contextual feedback, reveal content at the right moment and design experiences that respond naturally to what learners do.
Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PT: Leadership Development for First-Time and Frontline Managers: Building Capability Where Work Gets Done
As organizations face constant change, rising employee expectations, AI-enabled work and continued pressure to retain talent, frontline leadership capability has become a business-critical priority. In this session, Dr. Marline C. Duroseau, Managing Director of HR and Leadership at Brandon Hall Group, will examine why traditional leadership development often misses the realities of first-time and frontline managers, and what organizations can do differently. You’ll explore the capabilities managers need most, including communication, feedback, delegation, team engagement, difficult conversations and change leadership.
Thursday, October 29, 2026, 8 a.m.–9 a.m. PT: How to Build and Maintain a Strong Culture During AI Transformation
AI is reshaping how work gets done, but technology adoption alone will not determine whether organizations become stronger, more agile or more connected. For many HR leaders, the bigger challenge is cultural: how to maintain trust, connection, recognition and manager support while employees navigate uncertainty, shifting expectations, and new ways of working. Join Dustin Kenyon, Chief Revenue Officer at Motivosity, and Dr. Marline C. Duroseau, Managing Director of HR and Leadership at Brandon Hall Group, for a conversational executive roundtable on how organizations can build and maintain a strong culture during AI transformation.
Thursday, October 29, 2026, 9 a.m.–10 a.m. PT: How Agentic AI Rewrites the Rules of Workplace Training
As organizations race to keep pace with technological change, many learning leaders are wrestling with how emerging forms of AI will reshape their work. This Research Spotlight, led by Tom Whelan, Ph.D., Director of Research at Training Industry, draws on exclusive Training Industry data to examine both sides of the equation: the capabilities of agentic AI and the human factors that shape its success. You’ll learn where AI can enhance L&D workflows, what barriers organizations encounter during implementation and the beliefs that most influence learner engagement and trust. You’ll gain evidence-based insights to help you adopt AI responsibly and strategically.
Thursday, October 29, 2026, 9 a.m.–10 a.m. PT: Snow White and the Seven Difficult Behaviours
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest online participant of all? After Snow White was exiled into a dangerous forest by her evil stepmother, she is met by seven dwarfs with big personalities: Grumpy, Doc, Sneezy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful and Dopey. By understanding the personalities of the Seven Dwarfs and comparing them to common difficult behaviours seen in online training, Becky Pike Pluth, President and CEO of The Bob Pike Group, will show you how to create a positive learning environment and foster engagement. Have all your participants sing: Heigh-ho, heigh-to, it’s off to work we go!
Thursday, October 29, 2026, 12 p.m.–1 p.m. PT: Map It to Mean It: Unlocking the Neuroscience in Your Training
Most training programs still run on traditional models that favour information delivery over learning durability, leaving one of the most powerful tools sitting on the shelf. Visual mapping changes that. Mapping makes interleaving visible — and it naturally surfaces opportunities to build in retrieval practice and metacognitive checkpoints that deepen learning long after the session ends. In this webinar, Trevor Cox, Ph.D., Director of Learning Innovation at LX Studio, will translate cutting-edge neuroscience into a practical design tool your team can use immediately — whether you’re refining a single training or rethinking your entire learning system.
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