Preparing people and organizations for the future of global work for over 20 years means constantly keeping an eye out for what changes and what stays in culture, business, and training. This year we decided to take our experience and look inwards, from the perspective of the training team at Maka Training Consulting. We took a good look at what companies actually needed and what they requested or designed with us for their teams. 2025 turned out to be a year of subtle yet, clearly directed and purposeful change.

What stands out is not a radical change in corporate training, but a steady shift and meaningful shift in focus. Yes, companies did as usual come asking for more knowledge, more skills, and more tools. What was different, however,was the growing demand for targeted support for people, behavior, and communication in increasingly complex work environments. HR wanted to create learning experiences that were relevant, concrete, and genuinely useful.

Across industries, conversations with HR professionals followed a similar pattern. Change felt constant rather than temporary. New ways of working were introduced with enthusiasm, then tested by daily pressure. Feedback was widely recognized as essential, yet often difficult to give without creating tension.

The demand for training and coaching reflected this lived experience of work, where human dynamics shape performance every day. The shared realization emerged that human capability, adaptability, and experience can and must make the difference in a world increasingly dominated by technology.

Throughout 2025, workshops and soft skills training were the most requested training formats. Topics such as Change Management training, Habit Management training, and Feedback training for managers appeared consistently in both requests and conversations. These needs emerged in real situations and not as abstract leadership theory: teams adapting to new working models and business structures, managers trying to sustain behavior over time, and leaders choosing language carefully in moments that matter.

Corporate training became a useful space for managers and leaders to pause and reflect on everyday interactions that define how work gets done.

Most participants already understood why these skills matter. Awareness was rarely missing. The real challenge was application. Translating good intentions and knowledge into consistent behavior during busy working days requirespractical and ongoing support.

This explains the strong preference for interactive training workshops, where participants could test language, experiment with behavior, and reflect together. Training in 2025 focused less on explanation and theory and a lot more on practice. (Love)

Alongside this focus on behavior and leadership training, language training remained a constant priority. English continued to be the most requested language, especially for business communication training, leadership roles, and international collaboration.

It makes sense when you think that working in a global team or for a global business a large part of daily work naturally happens in English.

Italian language and culture courses followed closely, often linked to mergers and acquisitions, hiring overseas talent, team integration, workplace communication, and client-facing contexts. Other languages, including French, Spanish, German, Dutch, and Korean, appeared in more targeted situations, usually connected to international projects or cross-cultural collaboration. Language learning became increasingly intentional and closely aligned with real business needs.

What evolved clearly over the year was how companies (re)framed language training. It was no longer seen as an additional skill, but as a strategic business resource. Language supported leadership communication, clarity in meetings, effective feedback, and confidence at work.

In many cases, language training aligned naturally with broader corporate training and coaching paths, supporting presence, influence, and decision-making rather than technical perfection.

The need for new learning approaches and meaningful learning grew significantly in HR circles this year. Going from a nice-to-have to a must-have. In past years, it has been difficult for HR to balance budget with their innate desire to try out new types of course formulas.

Our innovative Roundtable English Talks learning series was one of our clients’ top training choices across the board due to its interdisciplinary makeup. It mixes social learning for team-building with English communication skills in targeted business topics creating a modern, experiential learning that is purposeful, effective, and that people love.

A meaningful shift toward not just learning a language but learning about the culture behind it accelerated in 2025. The more people work with colleagues overseas or sell their products abroad, the more they want to understand the culture and how to work together well.

New language technology has made it easier to communicate with diverse colleagues and customers around the world and companies are moving towards the next logical step: intercultural training to understand different business cultures and work effectively and in harmony in multicultural teams.

Coaching also played a growing role in corporate development. Executive coaching and language coaching supported individual growth alongside group training. The need for people who lead others to be reactive and adapt, and lead teams in moments of change and conflict was of primary focus.

Coaching created space for focused reflection, helping leaders and professionals work on communication, leadership presence, and real situations they face every day. Where targeted business training supported teams. Coaching supported individuals. Together, they created continuity in learning.

Taken as a whole, the corporate training trends of 2025 tell a clear story. Organizations invested in training that felt closer to reality. They chose learning formats that encouraged dialogue and reflection. They diversified training and development programs and tailored them carefully to real business needs and roles.

Human Resource Learning & Development teams are increasingly connecting soft skills training, leadership training, coaching, and language learning into a single development journey for their colleagues.

Corporate training felt less like instruction and more like accompaniment.

Looking ahead, corporate training continues to move toward a people first approach, centered on capability building designed specifically for people’s actual day-to-day roles, responsibilities, and challenges and in multicultural environments.

Hyper-customized training programs for team performance, coaching, and purposeful leadership training are gaining momentum, while language learning increasingly supports how individuals lead, collaborate, and adapt. Cultural workshops are becoming a natural extension of this integrated learning ecosystem.

Language remains central, not as a technical skill, but as a way of working. Because work ultimately lives in connection and conversation.

It’s exciting to see this shift towards a more natural and purposeful learning experience, more tailored to how people truly learn and what they need to be successful at work and in life. We wholeheartedly support this evolution by designing and delivering human-centered training and coaching. Our focus remains on creating positive learning experiences, designed around people, for people.