Honoring the organizations redefining what’s possible in workplace learning and development.
OpenSesame is proud to announce the winners of the 2026 Sesames Awards, our annual celebration of the publishers, partners, and customers shaping the future of workplace learning and development.
This year’s awards arrive at a pivotal time for organizations everywhere. As AI accelerates change and skills demands evolve, the 2026 Sesames winners are meeting complexity head-on. From personalized learning experiences to frontline enablement and skills-based leadership development, their work pairs innovation with intention, delivering measurable impact where it matters most.
Selected through a rigorous evaluation process focused on learner engagement, business outcomes, and innovation, these organizations demonstrate how learning can evolve alongside technology while staying deeply human at its core.
Customer awards: Driving measurable impact through learning
The Sesames Customer Awards recognize organizations that leverage learning to solve real business challenges, empower employees, and deliver measurable outcomes at scale.
The Excellence in AI-Driven Learning Award recognizes organizations using generative AI in practical, forward-looking ways to improve learning and business outcomes. First Solar earned this award for personalizing learning at scale through AI-driven recommendations to create role-based learning paths, and the thoughtful integration of generative AI tools like Synethesia and Canva AI to support learners globally. The program drove more than 215 global AI course completions in a single quarter, with voluntary participation exceeding required training and learners reporting greater confidence and faster completion. The runner-up in this category is NBC Universal.
The Leader in Frontline Employee Development Award honors organizations making meaningful investments in the people closest to the work. Alorica received this recognition for building frontline leadership capability in a new market using curated, Spanish-language OpenSesame learning paths focused on coaching, communication, and emotional intelligence. The program trained 200 employees, resulted in 33 internal manager promotions, and achieved an 85 percent retention rate – building a frontline team that drives top global performance. The runner-up in this category is Storage Asset Management.
The Excellence in Skills Development Award recognizes organizations building high-impact programs that close skill gaps and prepare their workforce for what’s next. Travel + Leisure earned this award for modernizing their Fundamentals of Leadership program into a scalable, skills-based experience delivered through Workday using curated OpenSesame content. Completion rates jumped to nearly 90 percent, with strong leader engagement and ratings reinforcing the program’s relevance and immediate impact. The runner-up in this category is Ontellus.
The Outstanding Leadership Development Program Award celebrates organizations building strong, future-ready leaders through impactful leadership training initiatives. Atria received this award for their Rise Leadership Program, a six-month blended development experience that combines OpenSesame courses with instructor-led sessions, coaching, and real-world application. The program has driven measurable behavior change, strengthening leadership communication, coaching confidence, and performance management. The runner-up in this category is KerberRose.
The Learning Impact Award recognizes organizations that clearly connect learning to measurable business outcomes. ABM Industries earned this award for launching a mobile-accessible safety program that tied completion of OpenSesame-hosted training directly to annual bonus eligibility. The initiative achieved more than 6,300 completions and a 93.8 percent completion rate, delivering ABM’s strongest enterprise safety results to date and strengthening their culture. The runner-up in this category is Ready Computing.
Reflecting on this year’s customer winners, Stuart Finn, Senior Vice President & Chief Customer Officer, shared:
“These organizations show what’s possible when learning is designed with both people and performance in mind. In the age of AI and rapid change, our 2026 customer winners are proving that thoughtful, strategic learning investments can truly reinvent the workforce.”
Publisher awards: Redefining excellence in learning content
The Sesames Publisher Awards honor creators who are pushing boundaries, elevating learner experiences, and setting new standards for online learning.
The Innovator of the Year Award recognizes a publisher who pioneers groundbreaking content, learning methodologies, or technology. By simplifying the traditionally complex Six Sigma Belt process into a seamless experience (complete the prep course, take the exam, and download the certificate), Process Management International (PMI) removed friction for learners worldwide. Their innovation goes even further with content available in more than 190 languages, featuring instant on-screen text, subtitles, and full audio translations at the click of a button, making process improvement education truly global and accessible. The finalists for Innovator of the Year are Video Arts and Traliant.
The Rising Star Award honors an emerging or flourishing publisher who demonstrates significant impact and potential in the learning industry. Madecraft earned this recognition through early adoption of Simon and a commitment to translating its entire catalog into all ten Simon languages, reinforcing quality and accessibility at scale. While often positioned as a tech publisher, Madecraft has achieved rapid adoption of its soft skills courses in one of the most crowded content categories — an achievement that speaks volumes about the relevance and effectiveness of its content. The finalists for the Rising Star Award are Clip Training and Always Food Safe.
The Collaborative Impact Award recognizes a publisher who excels in partnership, responsiveness to changing training needs, and prioritization of learners. For nearly a decade, Mindscaling has gone far beyond a traditional content relationship with OpenSesame. By actively engaging in initiatives, responding quickly to customer needs, expanding multilingual accessibility, and partnering closely on innovations like converting their content into Simon-based courses, Mindscaling consistently demonstrates trust, follow-through, and a commitment to building together. The finalist for the Collaborative Impact Award is Intellezy.
The Learner’s Choice Award celebrates a publisher with the highest learner satisfaction, as voted directly by the OpenSesame community. The winner of this award, Mind Channel, continues to prove that compliance and safety training can be both engaging and valuable. Learners consistently rate Mind Channel’s courses highly for their practicality and enjoyment, showing that mandatory training doesn’t have to feel like a checkbox. The finalist for the Learner’s Choice Award is HSI – ej4.
Summing up the publisher awards, Spencer Thornton, Senior Vice President of Curation, said,
“Our publishers are redefining what great learning content looks like in an AI-driven world. This year’s winners are more accessible, more engaging, and more impactful than ever.”
Partner awards: Fostering collaboration and growth
The Sesames Partner Awards recognize organizations that meaningfully contributed to OpenSesame’s partner ecosystem in 2025 through collaboration, innovation, and shared success.
The Top New Partner Award recognizes a new partner who made a significant impact within their first year. Acorn made a significant impact in its first year as a partner, including co-hosting OpenSesame’s first partner field event at ATD, Not Another Happy Hour. With exceptional sales collaboration, shared wins, and strong momentum heading into 2026, Acorn demonstrated what a high-impact new partnership can achieve.
The Escape Velocity Award recognizes partners with outstanding year-over-year growth. Docebo earned this award by uniting platform and content to create differentiated value for learners and customers, accelerating joint growth through strong go-to-market alignment. Through a new integration and enhanced platform experience, the partnership continues to deliver a more connected learning experience that supports organizations in transforming the modern workplace.
The Collaboration Excellence Award honors partners that demonstrate exceptional collaboration with OpenSesame, fostering teamwork, innovation, and shared success. UKG earned this recognition through close alignment across teams, driving a 123 percent increase in partner-sourced revenue, supporting more than 20 joint events, and launching the first Oro integrations with a partner platform – reinforcing learning in the flow of work. In 2025, OpenSesame was also named UKG’s Premier LMS Content Partner and received UKG’s White Glove Partner of the Year award.
The Global Partner of the Year Award recognizes exceptional regional impact and collaboration. Workday received this award for operating as a true extension of OpenSesame across Global, partnering on regionally aligned initiatives, shared events, and close collaboration across France, the UK, Germany, Benelux, and the Nordics. Workday helped open, progress, and land opportunities worldwide, building a foundation for long-term shared success.
Reflecting on the partner winners, Rebeca Mesa, Vice President of Partnerships, shared:
“Our partners play a critical role in reinventing how organizations enable and support their workforce. Each of our 2026 winners demonstrates what’s possible when collaboration and shared innovation.”
Looking ahead: Reinventing the workforce, together
Congratulations to the 2026 Sesames Awards winners! Your work sets the standard for excellence in workplace learning and shows what’s possible when innovation, empathy, and impact come together.
To the OpenSesame community, thank you for continuing to push learning forward. As we enter a new era shaped by AI and rapid change, we’re excited to keep reinventing the workforce together.
Stay tuned for more stories from The Sesames 2026 and beyond.