Business and Financial Operations · Holland code SIC

Training and Development Specialists

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.

Also called: Corporate Trainer, Job Training Specialist, Learning and Development Specialist (L and D Specialist), Training Specialist, Computer Training Specialist, Leadership Development Specialist, Learning and Development Consultant, Management Development Specialist.

O*NET 13-1151.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $69,280; Middle half earn $50,110 to $95,050. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 78% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +11% · Much faster than average; 452,300 jobs in 2024, projected 501,000. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Training and development specialists".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.
Offer specific training programs to help workers maintain or improve job skills.
Assess training needs through surveys, interviews with employees, focus groups, or consultation with managers, instructors, or customer representatives.
Monitor, evaluate, or record training activities or program effectiveness.
Design, plan, organize, or direct orientation and training programs for employees or customers.
Develop alternative training methods if expected improvements are not seen.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Speaking4.4 / 5
Learning Strategies4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.9 / 5
Writing3.9 / 5
Critical Thinking3.9 / 5

Knowledge areas

Education and Training4.7 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.0 / 5
English Language3.8 / 5
Personnel and Human Resources3.5 / 5
Administration and Management3.5 / 5
Psychology3.4 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic17
Investigative51
Artistic37
Social77
Enterprising45
Conventional46

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

ICT trainer · DE IKT-Trainer/IKT-Trainerin · FR formateur aux technologies de l'information et de la communication/formatrice aux technologies de l'information et de la communication
instructional designer · DE Instruktionsdesigner/Instruktionsdesignerin · FR concepteur pédagogique/conceptrice pédagogique
business coach · DE Business Coach · FR coach professionnel/coach professionnelle
corporate trainer · DE betrieblicher Aus- und Weiterbildner/betriebliche Aus- und Weiterbildnerin · FR formateur en entreprise/formatrice en entreprise
corporate training manager · DE Leiter der betrieblichen Aus- und Weiterbildung/Leiterin der betrieblichen Aus- und Weiterbildung · FR responsable de formation

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Information technology trainers (3573)9,200 employed
Other vocational and industrial trainers (3574)149,800 employed
Teaching professionals n.e.c. (2319)128,900 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.20. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (13-1151).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test