General Meeting: ATD Houston 2026 State of the Industry Meeting

ATD Houston 2026 State of the Industry Meeting
Featuring an Exclusive Preview of the NEW TD at Work Playbook (Publishing January 2026!)

It’s that time of year again! As organizations close out 2025 and prepare for the year ahead, Talent Development teams are once again assessing results, refining strategies, and aligning budgets to support rapidly evolving business priorities.

Join ATD Houston for our annual State of the Industry Meeting, where we break down the newest findings from ATD’s flagship State of the Industry report and explore what they mean for our local learning community.

This year’s session includes something special: an exclusive first look at Debbie Richards’ brand-new TD at Work Playbook, publishing in January 2026. The playbook provides a practical blueprint for L&D professionals navigating emerging technologies, shifting learner expectations, and the new realities of AI-enabled work.

During this session, we will analyze key benchmarks and trends, including:

• Direct learning expenditures and what they signal for 2026 planning

• The average number of formal learning hours per employee—and how high-performing teams are shifting the balance

• Delivery methods organizations are prioritizing (ILT, VILT, blended, microlearning, AI-supported, VR/AR)

• Top content areas receiving investment and attention

• On-the-job learning opportunities and how leaders are building learning into the flow of work

• The growing role of technology, AI, and data in modern L&D ecosystems

We’ll also compare ATD’s national benchmarks with lived realities across Houston-area organizations—what’s tracking, what’s changing, and what’s emerging that isn’t yet captured in the data.

Get an early preview of Debbie Richards’ new TD at Work Playbook, designed to help learning leaders:

• Prioritize high-impact L&D initiatives

• Build data-ready learning systems

• Partner with the business using dashboards and insights

• Integrate AI into workflows safely and strategically

• Strengthen capability, governance, and readiness across the talent ecosystem

Attendees will walk away with actionable frameworks and tools you can immediately apply in your 2026 planning conversations.

ATD Capability Model – Performance Improvement, Learning Technologies

To learn more about this model see: https://tdcapability.org/#/

Passionate about working with and mentoring other learning professionals, Debbie is a director at L&D Cares - The non-profit group provides talent development professionals no-cost coaching, mentoring, and resources to help them thrive and flourish in their careers.

She is the past president of the Association of Talent Development, Houston chapter, and a past national advisor for chapters. Debbie has authored two TD at Work guides, Seeing the Possibilities With Augmented Reality and Preparing Your Organization for New Technologies.

She was also awarded the title of "Guild Master" by the Learning Guild in 2022. The purpose of the Guild Master Award is to recognize those members who have consistently contributed to the community in terms of both quantity and quality of content—and thus helped make the community a vibrant center for learning.