Career Trends: Training and Development Specialists

Training and development specialists plan, conduct, and administer programs that train employees and improve their skills and knowledge.

Training and development specialists work in nearly every industry. They spend much of their time working with people, giving presentations, and leading training activities.

In addition to a bachelor’s degree, training and development specialists also need work experience and strong communication skills.

Employment of training and development specialists is projected to grow 7 percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Job prospects should be best for those with a bachelor’s degree and previous work experience in training and development and online and mobile training programs.

This occupation supported 228,800 jobs in 2012 and 252,600 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 10.4%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 15.5% in 2022 to 264,200 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 235,800, compared with an observed value of 252,600, 7.1% higher than expected. This indicates current employment trends are much better than the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 8.3% in 2024 to 271,500 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 271,200 jobs for 2024, 0.1% lower than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are about on track with the 2012 trend within this occupation.