Delivering an effective training program takes creativity along with communication skills and the ability to adapt teaching methods to a particular audience. Training and development specialists plan and conduct programs that train employees and improve their skills and knowledge. These specialists often begin developing a program by assessing needs through surveys, interviews, and meetings with managers. Taking what they learn, they develop curriculum, manuals, videos, or online applications. They may include different formats to engage learning through group discussion and team activities, and often follow up their training with evaluation to improve for the next session. Training and development specialists increasingly develop tools and materials for use on computers and tablets. Administrative tasks are also common, such as scheduling classes or webinars, setting up equipment, and taking registrations. Training and development specialists work in nearly every industry— from healthcare and finance, to education and government. They spend much of their time working with people, giving presentations, and leading training activities. They generally work full time, during regular business hours. Training and development specialists need a bachelor’s degree and work experience in a field such as training, human resources, teaching, or instructional design. A master’s degree may take the place of work experience.
What they do:
Design or conduct work-related training and development programs to improve individual skills or organizational performance. May analyze organizational training needs or evaluate training effectiveness.
On the job, you would:
Present information with a variety of instructional techniques or formats, such as role playing, simulations, team exercises, group discussions, videos, or lectures.
Obtain, organize, or develop training procedure manuals, guides, or course materials, such as handouts or visual materials.
Evaluate modes of training delivery, such as in-person or virtual, to optimize training effectiveness, training costs, or environmental impacts.
Education and Training
teaching and course design
Business
customer service
human resources (HR)
Arts and Humanities
English language
Math and Science
psychology
Basic Skills
talking to others
using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things
Social
teaching people how to do something
understanding people's reactions
People and Technology Systems
thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it
Verbal
communicate by speaking
communicate by writing
Ideas and Logic
come up with lots of ideas
notice when problems happen
Memory
remember words, numbers, pictures, or steps
People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.
They do well at jobs that need:
Cooperation
Dependability
Adaptability/Flexibility
Integrity
Self Control
Initiative
You might use software like this on the job:
Web platform development software
Django
Drupal
Computer based training software
Common Curriculum
Moodle
Graphics or photo imaging software
Adobe Systems Adobe Creative Cloud software
Adobe Systems Adobe Illustrator
bachelor's degree usually needed
Get started on your career:
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.