Training And Development Manager Career Path

What Are Important Personality Traits For Someone In Training And Development

Those who hope to make a career in training and development may be:

• Extroverted: Trainers and presenters may speak to various size crowds of multiple ages

• Flexible: Topics may change mid-course or trainees may ask questions that lead to different material

• Introverted: Curriculum developers may spend a lot of time alone, planning, writing and editing

What Do Training And Development Managers Do

Training and development managers typically do the following:

• Oversee training and development staff
• Assess employees needs for training
• Align training with the organizations strategic goals
• Create and manage training budgets
• Develop and implement training programs that make the best use of available resources
• Review and select training materials from a variety of vendors
• Update training programs to ensure that they are relevant
• Teach training methods and skills to instructors and supervisors
• Evaluate the effectiveness of training programs and instructors

Training and development managers oversee training programs, staff, and budgets. They are responsible for creating or selecting course content and materials for training programs. Training may be in the form of a video, self-guided instructional manual, or online application and delivered in-person or through a computer, tablet, or other hand-held electronic device. Training may also be collaborative, with employees informally connecting with experts, mentors, and colleagues, often through social media or other online mediums. Managers must ensure that training methods, content, software, systems, and equipment are appropriate and meaningful.

Licenses Certifications And Registrations

Although it is not required for training and development managers, certification may show professional expertise. Some employers prefer to hire candidates who have certification, and some positions require it.

Many professional associations for human resources professionals offer classes to enhance the skills of their members. Some associations, including the Association for Talent Development and the International Society for Performance Improvement, specialize in training and development and offer certification programs. The Society for Human Resource Management offers general human resources certification.

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How To Decide If A Career In L& d Is Right For You

As noted above, most of the L& D professionals we surveyed have not worked their entire career in Learning and Development:

Mortgage broker, General Manager, Video Editor and Producer, Teacher.the majority of those working in L& D at one point transitioned from another profession. You may be wondering yourself if a move into L& D is right for you. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to help you decide.

Gain Experience Through Entry

Once you graduate with your bachelor’s degree, you can apply for entry-level roles within the field of training and development. Most employers expect candidates for training and development manager roles to first earn at least two to three years of experience in positions related to education, management, training or human resources. You may start out as a training and development specialist or by working within a specific industry you’re interested in. After spending a few years situating yourself as a professional and building your management capacity, you may become eligible to apply for training and development manager positions.

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Important Qualities For Training And Development Managers

Business skills. Training and development managers must understand business operations in order to match training to the business’s strategic goals. They also need to be able to plan and adhere to budgets.

Communication skills. Training and development managers must clearly communicate information and facilitate learning by diverse audiences. They also must be able to effectively convey instructions to their staff.

Critical-thinking skills. Training and development managers use critical-thinking skills when assessing classes, materials, and programs. They must identify the training needs of an organization and recognize where changes and improvements can be made.

Training and development managers must select or create the best training programs to meet the needs of the organization. For example, they must review available training methods and materials and choose those that best fit each program.

Collaboration skills. Training and development managers need strong interpersonal skills because delivering training programs requires working in concert with staff, trainees, subject matter experts, and the organization’s leaders. They also accomplish much of their work through teams.

Instructional skills. Training and development managers need to understand the fundamentals of teaching and lesson planning. In addition to developing training, they may lead courses or seminars.

Past Experiences You Need To Become A Learning And Development Manager

There is no set in stone career path to becoming a Learning & Development Manager because the skills required can be learned from different experiences and backgrounds. What can be helpful is having prior experience in People or HR departments, earning a CIPD qualification and having your own passion for personal development and learning.

People and HR background

Management of people and processes is a huge part of the role so experience in the People and HR space will not only be helpful in the day-to-day completion of the job but it will also make you a desirable candidate.

CIPD Qualifications

The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development is the professional body for HR and L& D professionals. They offer a wide range of short courses and qualifications covering HR, L& D and People management. Having a CIPD qualification is often a desirable requirement for many L& D roles, so they’re worth looking into.

A passion for learning and development

If you donât have the two above, donât worry, having a multi-disciplinary background and approach can be very helpful in guiding others on their journeys. Having a passion for learning and growth, however, is important for job satisfaction.

When someone has a passion for their job it is clear in the interview process and it adds to happiness at work. If you didnât enjoy personal development and you didnât get a kick out of helping others achieve their goals then the L& D manager job may not be right for you.

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Phases Of Career Development

Life is cyclical, and so is your career. Understanding the phases of career development will help you find your way throughout your career planning. Whether youre fresh out of college or considering a career change, these phases apply.

What are the 5 phases of career development?

• Experiment with options

What Was Your Background Before Starting This Role

I have worked in learning & development for over 10 years and spent most of this time at companies in or linked to the construction industry. I started in an administration role and have worked my way up to a management position gaining vital skills and experience along the way. I have taken the time to invest in my own development completing qualifications and accreditations to support my experience.

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Work Experience In A Related Occupation For Training And Development Managers

Related work experience is essential for training and development managers. Many positions require work experience in training and development or another human resources field, management, or teaching. For example, many training and development managers start out as training and development specialists. Some employers also prefer experience in the industry in which the company operates. Increasingly, employers are looking for workers with experience in information technology as organizations introduce more e-learning and technology-based tools.

Earn A Bachelor’s Degree

Improving your skills as a training specialist is much easier when you know where to head. Develop your teaching and performance assessment skills with a degree. Most entry-level training specialist jobs require a good foundation for educating others.

You can earn a bachelor’s in a related field, like human resources, business administration, and adult education and training. Your studies will hone in on key subjects that provide a distinct career advantage, like:

• Adult learning.

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What Does A Training And Development Manager Do

Training and development managers are typically responsible for a wide variety of tasks associated with employee education, coaching and management. Training and development managers combine these three facets of their role to accomplish the overall goal of fostering a productive, efficient and engaged workforce within a particular organization. Here is an in-depth explanation of those three facets:

Why Should I Choose Csu Global

Weve got the perfect programs for anyone looking to become a training and development manager, including our online Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Human Resource Management.

Both programs are regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to launch a successful, lifelong career in training and development.

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Occupational Employment And Wage Statistics

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program produces employment and wage estimates annually for over 800 occupations. These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual states, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The link below go to OEWS data maps for employment and wages by state and area.

• Training and development managers

What Can I Do To Increase My Chances Of Success

If youre serious about getting a job as a training and development manager, then you should consider doing more than just earning a B.S. in HR.

Why? Because this is an extremely competitive position that could require additional degrees or certification. There are several things you can do to help increase your odds of getting hired for available roles.

First, consider earning a Masters Degree in Human Resources, which will prove youve dedicated the time and effort required to develop leadership and management-level skills and abilities in the field.

CSU Globals online Masters Degree in Human Resource Management is the perfect option for anyone looking to get an accredited, widely-respected M.S. in HR.

Next, think about completing a relevant certification program, or even several of them, as these are designed to boost your resume by sharpening your skills and abilities.

According to Reworked.co, five of the best learning and development certifications include:

• Certified Professional in Training Management
• Project Management Professional
• ATD Certified Professional in Learning and Performance
• Senior Professional in Human Resources
• Senior Certified Professional

You dont necessarily need any of these certifications to become a training and development manager, but again, theyre likely to help enhance your resume and improve your marketability when it comes to applying for available jobs.

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Gain Experience In The Field

Most employee training specialist positions require 2 to 5 years of experience, so how do you make that happen fresh out of school? To gain experience in this rewarding field, use one of these strategies:

• Take advantage of your college’s internship programs.
• Secure an entry-level position in a company’s Human Resources department.
• Enter the field through an unrelated teaching career.
• Consider volunteering, especially with a leadership role.

Get Relevant Work Experience

Apply for positions that aren’t training and development jobs but may include some similar tasks to help you build experience. Jobs in areas like education, clinical studies, information technology or human resources may offer opportunities to conduct training or create development materials. Learning those skills may help you transition to a full training and development position at a later time.

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How To Read This Guide

We split our survey analysis into several sections, which youll find on the left, in the sidebar. You can read this guide from beginning to end, or skip around to a chapter youre most interested in.

There are several aims of this guide:

• To act as a salary benchmark, so that L& D professionals can assess if they are being paid fairly
• To identify factors that contribute to higher salaries, to help aspiring L& D employees achieve their goals
• To identify common roadblocks to career advancement, and to provide solutions
• To identify the backgrounds of those who might be considering making a move into this field, so they understand if they’re the right fit
• To understand at what threshold L& D professionals are satisfied with their salaries, to help employers avoid continued fallout from the Great Resignation due to salary dissatisfaction
• To empower the L& D community with the information and resources needed to prove just how critical L& D is to solving key business challenges, driving growth, and supporting employee engagement and wellbeing.

What Is Career Development

Career development is the lifelong process of learning new skills, finding purpose in your work, and advancing along your career path.

Career development is different from the development of specific skills, though it often includes this. For example, a career counselor might advise that you undertake some workshops particular to your chosen field. This would contribute to your career development.

Career development is also different from career growth, which is more about the big-picture vision you have for your career. To achieve your career growth goals, you need to develop your career by gaining new experiences and skills.

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Build A Career Development Plan And Roadmap

Work one-on-one with your employee to understand their career goals. Then, collaborate with them to build a customized career roadmap and career development plan that represents how theyll move up in the company once they hit certain milestones. Build a diagram to help them better picture the order of roles they can advance to. It also helps if you have an organizational chart that outlines the hierarchy of each employee and their current position. This allows the employee to better understand where they fit within the organization.

What Does A Training Manager Do

Training managers direct, plan, and coordinate programs to develop the skills and knowledge of an organizations workers to help make them more productive. They oversee and work with specialists such as instructional designers, program developers, and instructors to design curriculum and determine training needs that will meet an organizations goals. They work in almost every industry in offices on a full-time basis.

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What Skills & Abilities Are Needed To Become A Successful Training & Development Manager

This is not an easy role, as it requires a great deal of expertise and experience in both traditional HR disciplines, as well as in modern training and development best practices.

To become a successful training and development manager, youll need to develop a series of important abilities, including:

• Fantastic communications skills, including verbal and written skills, as youll be responsible for coordinating all the communications between trainers and employees.
• Great presentation skills, since youll oversee all the presentations, lectures, and training materials created and presented by your training staff at many large, modern organizations, and expertise in PowerPoint will be required.
• Experience working with a variety of training platforms, systems, and methods, including the latest learning management systems, online learning platforms, etc.
• An ability to design, create, and improve training materials, like presentations, quizzes, tests, surveys, written materials, etc.
• Traditional HR skills, including leading and managing teams of employees, measuring employee performance, and building a positive, successful corporate culture and identity.

Fortunately, while you may not already have all of these skills and abilities, you can develop them by completing an accredited degree in Human Resource Management. CSU Global offers both a Bachelors and a Masters degree in this specific field.

What Will I Learn When Studying Hr Management

CSU Globals B.S. in HR Management program will provide you with everything you need to become a successful training and development manager, including all of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required by this complex job.

Our program was designed to provide you with critical work-related skills, and will include training on:

• Building a collaborative and inclusive company culture.
• Maximizing employee performance via sophisticated training, engagement, and motivational strategies.
• Managing organizational policy creation and implementation.
• Overseeing staffing, onboarding, and employee negotiations.

Should you decide to pursue another specialty track within HR, youll be fully prepared to handle more traditional duties as well, as our program will include detailed instruction on applying leadership principles to employee administration and organizational development via courses on:

• Business Policy
• Professional Development

This program is the ideal way to prepare for a successful, lifelong career in HR, whether you choose to become a training and development manager, or your interests lie in other niches of human resources.

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Paths Available In A Training And Development Career

Excerpt from Chapter 10: Your Future in the Field from An Overview of Training and Development: Why Training Matters by Saul Carliner and Margaret Driscoll .

Two general career paths exist in Training and Development:

• Individual contributor path intended for people who have great expertise in the field but are not interested in serving in a management role.
• Management path intended for people who seek management roles.

Although they involve different jobs, both career paths allow for growth over time, an increasing span of influence, and increasingly complex job assignments.

A career path in the field typically involves four levels.

Figure 10a. Summary of Career Paths

Level 1 is the entry level, which is intended for people who are just starting in the field. Several entry-level jobs exist, including training administrator, junior or subject matter expert instructor, and junior or SME instructional designer. The typical number of years of experience required for an entry-level role is zero to five years.

Level 2 in the career path is the intermediate level. Level 2 professionals might have been promoted from junior to intermediate instructor or junior to intermediate instructional designer positions. Level 2 also comprises learning technology specialists and combined roles . The typical number of years of experience required for intermediate roles is two to 10 years.

All of the roles in the first two levels are primarily intended for individual contributors.

Employment Of Training And Development Specialists

Employees in many occupations are required to take continuing education and skill development courses throughout their careers, creating demand for workers who lead training activities.

Employment of training and development specialists is projected to grow in many industries as companies develop and introduce new media and technology into their training programs. Innovations in training methods and learning technology should continue throughout the next decade. For example, organizations increasingly use social media, visual simulations, and mobile learning in their training programs. Training and development specialists will need to modify their programs in order to fit a new generation of workers for whom technology is a part of daily life and work.

In addition, some organizations meet their employees needs by outsourcing instruction to firms that specialize in training and development.

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