Blended Learning For Training Providers: Online and Face-To-Face Delivery

Ask ten training providers how they feel about blended learning right now and you will get ten different answers. Some swear by it. Some tried it, scaled it back, and went looking for what worked before. Most are somewhere in the middle, quietly mixing online and face-to-face elements without necessarily calling it "blended learning" at all.

That mixed picture is not just a feeling. It shows up clearly across two years of industry data, and it matters for how training providers plan their delivery model going forward.

What the 2025 data showed about blended learning for training providers

According to accessplanit's 2025 State of the Training Industry Benchmark Report, the proportion of providers formally offering "blended learning" as a course type dropped from 57% in 2024 to 41% in 2025, the sharpest decline of any course type tracked in the report. On the surface, that looked like blended learning was falling out of favour.

Look closer, though, and a different story emerged. In 2025, in-person classroom training was still delivered by 80% of providers, and eLearning by 55%. Live virtual training sat at 56%. Providers were not abandoning either format. What seemed to be happening was that "blended learning" as a distinct, formally packaged course type was proving harder to deliver well than expected, while providers continued to combine online and face-to-face elements informally within their wider course mix.

The same report found that 41% of training providers named "more interest in classroom learning" as one of their biggest opportunities for 2025, a clear signal that the pendulum had swung back towards in-person delivery after several years of digital-first thinking. At the same time, on-demand formats had not gone away. In 2025, 29% of learners said they wanted podcasts as part of their learning journey, yet only 9% of providers offered them, a gap that pointed to real, unmet demand for flexible, self-paced formats sitting alongside the classroom.

So the honest conclusion was not "blended learning is booming" or "blended learning is dying." It was that providers who blend thoughtfully, rather than bolting digital content onto a classroom course for the sake of it, are the ones getting it right.

What has changed in 2026

Now in its tenth year, accessplanit's 2026 State of the Training Industry Benchmark Report suggests that picture has matured rather than reversed.

In accessplanit's own summary of the 2026 findings, blended learning is described as having settled into a more realistic position after the rapid experimentation of previous years, while classroom and in-house training continue to hold a very strong position across the industry. Rather than one delivery method replacing another, the industry appears to be finding a more balanced mix.

Interest in the classroom remains a clear theme. In 2026, 37% of providers named more interest in classroom learning as an opportunity, down from 41% the year before but still a strong sign of the continued value of face-to-face training alongside digital delivery.

The gap between what learners want and what providers deliver has also shifted. On the report's headline figures, 22% of learners now want podcasts, compared with 12% of providers offering them. That gap has narrowed from 20 percentage points in 2025 to 10 in 2026, with provider adoption rising, but it has not closed. Video shows an even wider gap, with 51% of learners wanting it against 37% of providers delivering it.

The pressures on providers have changed too. Lack of resources (41%) and maintaining quality in a fast-moving, AI-driven market (39%) were named as the biggest challenges facing providers in 2026, while nearly 60% of providers now use AI in some capacity.

Taken together, the two reports tell a consistent story. Blended learning has not disappeared. It has become more deliberate.

Why online and face-to-face delivery still work best together

For training providers, the real value of combining delivery methods is not the mix itself but what each format is good at. Face-to-face sessions still do the heaviest lifting for practical skills, group discussion, and the kind of nuanced feedback that is hard to replicate on a screen. Online elements are better suited to theory, pre-reading, assessment, and giving learners the flexibility to revisit material at their own pace.

Used well, this combination gives learners the best of both without asking them to sacrifice either. A course that sends pre-work online before a face-to-face session, for example, means classroom time can be spent on discussion and application rather than covering the basics from scratch. A webinar series that includes an in-person practical day part way through gives learners a chance to build relationships with trainers and peers, which can make a real difference to how engaged they stay and how likely they are to recommend the course.

That last point matters more than it might seem. The 2025 accessplanit report found reputation and word of mouth had been the single most effective marketing method for training providers for six years running, named by 34% of providers as their top channel, and the 2026 report found it remains the most effective channel, continuing to outperform all other methods. Delivery quality, and the learner experience that comes with it, feeds directly into that reputation. A well-designed blend is not just a nice-to-have for the learner; it is part of what keeps a training business growing.

Accrediting a blended learning course the right way

One area providers sometimes get wrong is assuming that once one element of a blended course is accredited, the rest follows automatically. It does not, and that is worth being clear on before you build a course around this model.

At The CPD Group, every activity we accredit is assessed individually and on its own merits, whether that is a course, an edutorial, or a practical accreditation review for a webinar or event. If your blended offering includes a live classroom day and a series of online modules, both elements need to meet our accreditation requirements in their own right. There is no blanket approval that covers a course simply because one part of it has been accredited before. This matters just as much for quality as it does for compliance: learners and employers increasingly check accreditation status before committing to a course, and a gap in coverage across your blended delivery is the kind of thing that gets noticed.

The upside is that this individual assessment works in your favour once it is done properly. A provider offering an accredited online edutorial alongside an accredited face-to-face workshop can point to both with confidence, and learners can verify either one independently via The CPD Register before they commit. That transparency is increasingly what sets credible providers apart.

Training professionals flagged "rogue centres and trainers" as a growing concern in the 2025 benchmark report, and in 2026, maintaining quality in a fast-moving, AI-driven market was named by 39% of providers as one of their biggest challenges. accessplanit's 2026 summary also notes that accreditation bodies continue to play an important role in how learners find training courses.

Practical starting points for training providers

If you are a training provider weighing up how much to blend and where, a few starting points are worth considering rather than any one-size-fits-all formula.

Start with what the content actually needs, not what looks impressive on a course outline. Practical, hands-on skills usually need face-to-face time. Theory, compliance content, and anything learners will want to revisit is generally better suited to online delivery.

Think about what your learners are asking for, not just what is easiest to build. The gap around podcasts, video and on-demand content in both the 2025 and 2026 data suggests there is still room for providers willing to offer more flexible formats, provided the core learning outcomes are not compromised in the process.

Finally, treat every element of a blended course as its own piece of work when it comes to accreditation and quality assurance. A strong classroom session does not automatically make a strong online module, and vice versa. Each deserves its own scrutiny.

Blended learning has not disappeared, and it has not taken over either. For training providers, the opportunity lies in being deliberate about which format does which job, and making sure every part of that mix, online and face-to-face alike, is held to the same standard. If you are building or refining a blended course and want every element properly recognised, The CPD Group can help you get each part of it accredited on its own merits.

Looking for CPD Accreditation? We accredit a wide range of CPD activities, so take a look at the different types of accreditation we offer to find what suits you best:

• CPD Courses
• CPD Webinars
• CPD Edutorials
• CPD Audio Podcasts
• CPD Video Podcasts
• CPD Accredited Events
• CPD Trainers
• CPD Employers

The CPD Group's published A.C.C.R.E.D.I.T.E.D Framework provides transparency around the standards we apply to learning activities, with every activity independently assessed on its own merit against the relevant accreditation requirements. As a value-added service, we submit all accredited activities to The CPD Register on behalf of the provider, providing a transparent and independent way to verify accreditation status.

How to become an accredited CPD Provider We hope this article was helpful. The CPD Group is the first CPD accreditation organisation to be certified by The CPD Register, working with over 13,000 approved providers across 170+ countries and 100+ industries. Every course, webinar, event or podcast we accredit is assessed on its own merit, never as part of a blanket approval.

If you're delivering training, running events, hosting a podcast, or creating any learning content that offers genuine professional development value, we'd love to help you get it accredited. Visit our Become a CPD Provider page or contact our team for a friendly chat about what we can do for you. If you're a learner looking to track, store and verify your own CPD, create your free CPD Passport - it connects directly to The CPD Register for instant verification of your accredited learning.

This content is provided by The CPD Group, a CPD accreditation service for training providers. We help training organisations demonstrate quality standards through independent CPD certification.