The instructor-led training sector has long relied on experience and instinct. Talk to any training provider about how they price their courses, how they're responding to shifts in delivery format, or how they're thinking about the year ahead and you'll get a confident, considered answer. Ask them how that compares to what the rest of the market is doing? That's where it gets harder.
Dedicated benchmarking data for ILT providers has never really existed. Most industry research covers L&D broadly, or is skewed toward large corporate learning functions. Independent training providers - the businesses that live or die by the quality of their ILT - have been largely left out of the picture.
That's what makes the State of Instructor-Led Training Report 2026 worth paying attention to.
What it is
The State of ILT is the first global benchmark report built specifically for ILT providers. It's produced by Arlo - makers of a leading training management system used by independent training providers worldwide - in partnership with The Training Marketplace.
The report will cover market confidence, delivery format trends, technology and AI adoption, pricing benchmarks, and buyer behaviour insights drawn directly from The Training Marketplace platform. An advisory panel of industry leaders will provide expert analysis alongside the data. It will be published in November 2026.
Why we're involved
Good instructor-led training changes people. It builds real skills, creates genuine confidence, and delivers outcomes that a 20-minute elearning module simply can't replicate.
But the market is getting harder to navigate. Quality providers are competing for attention in a landscape increasingly flooded by cheap, low-quality courses. And without solid data on where the industry actually stands, it's difficult to make the case for what good ILT is worth.
This report is a chance to change that. We're proud to support an initiative that puts real data behind the value of instructor-led training, and gives the providers delivering it a clearer picture of the market they're operating in.
How to have your say
The survey is live now and takes less than 10 minutes. Everyone who fills it in gets early access to the full report before public release, first invites to webinars with the advisory panel, and exclusive offers from partners and sponsors.
If you work in instructor-led training, your input belongs in this report.