Training and Development Specialist Career
A training and development specialist works to improve employee’s skills and knowledge through developing and implementing plans and curricula for professional development.
Training and development specialists are the teachers of an organization. They help employees meet company standards and improve until they are the best they can be.
Generally, training specialists work the traditional ‘office job’ when they are not actively teaching, giving presentations, or working with leaders to develop plans for improvement.
Training and Development Specialist Career Snapshot
Since each organization’s and employee’s needs are different, a training and development specialist works with a high degree of flexibility. What you teach your employees depends on the field they are working in. For example, a training specialist at a library could focus on public relations, customer service, and organizational abilities; whereas a training specialist in an oil field could teach about work zone safety and proper procedure.
Further details on a career as a training and development specialist are listed below (statistics from the May 2015 Bureau of Labor Statistics and Onet Online):
is the average annual salary for training and development specialists.
increase in employment between 2014 and 2024.
have a Bachelor’s degree while 17% have a Master’s degree.
Training/Development Specialist Education
Most training specialists enter the field with a Bachelor’s degree and around five years of experience. Strong communication skills, ability to speak in front of groups, teach, and work with others are exceptionally important in this field and are generally valued more than an advanced degree.
Training/Development Specialist Job Duties
As a training specialist you will become a local expert on the particulars of your field. That could be a database or skill set. Then you will go out and teach others about what you are the local expert of. Class sizes could range from as small as one-on-one interactions to groups of 100+ depending on the company.
Training/Development Specialist Salaries
The average pay for a training specialist is about $58,000 a year, or $28/hr according to 2015 BLS.gov statistics. This varies of course based on your experience, education level, and chosen field. The low end of the salary is roughly $32,000 while some specialists can earn around $100,000. This difference of pay is a huge indicator of the flexibility associated with this type of position.
Training/Development Specialist Job Outlook
All businesses above a certain size need training specialists to ensure consistency throughout the company, so the job growth for a training specialist is tied securely to the average growth of all occupations. For 2014-2024, the field is expected to grow about 7%, or roughly 18,000 jobs.
Training and Development Specialist Skills & Traits
| Training Specialist Skill Set: | Required Abilities: | Tools Used by Training Specialists: | Typical Work Activities: |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Instructing • Learning Strategies • Active Listening • Speaking • Monitoring | • Oral Expression • Oral Comprehension • Speech Clarity • Written Comprehension • Written Expression | • Desktop computers • Laser printers • LCD projectors • Laptop computers • Overhead display projectors | • Training Others • Getting Information • Interpersonal Relationships • Communicating with Others • Creative Thinking |
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