Training officers organise training for staff within companies. This can involve delivering training personally or arranging training events through other colleagues or external providers, consultants or academic institutions and training centres.

Some training officers may be responsible for a particular area such as management development or health and safety. Those with a general role have a wide range of responsibilities, which could include:

• identifying company and individual training needs through consultation with managers and staff appraisals
• designing, delivering and evaluating training programmes
• revising training programmes as a result of evaluation or of changing needs in the company
• developing induction training and staff appraisal schemes
• ensuring training is cost-effective and within budget 
• coaching and assessing individuals or small groups on work-based training or college courses
• producing training materials.

Senior training officers may liaise with line managers to assist in identifying training needs and making sure that training meets the objectives of the organisation.

Hours and Environment

As a training officer you will usually work 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. You may sometimes need to work more flexible hours, for example if you are involved in residential courses or workshops, or if a shift system is in operation. 

You will be office-based, but may be expected to travel between company sites or to training venues, such as hotels or conference centres.

Skills and Interests

To be a training officer you need:

• commitment to staff training and development
• the ability to relate to staff at all levels
• excellent spoken and written communication skills
• organisation skills
• planning and time management skills
• to be good at encouraging and motivating people
• negotiating and influencing skills
• the ability to write clear reports and keep accurate records, including budget information
• computer skills.

Entry

There are no set entry requirements for becoming a training officer, these will vary depending on the job. You begin your career as a trainee or assistant in a personnel or training department. Many people move into the training department from elsewhere within a company and then study for training qualifications.

You may need company or sector specific knowledge and experience for some positions, where training needs are very specific to the line of work.

Some entrants have a degree covering business studies, management, training or personnel subjects.

Training

When you are in relevant work you could do Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) qualifications, including the Certificate in Personnel Practice (CPP) and Certificate in Training Practice (CTP). Visit the CIPD website for details - there is a link in Further Information below.

Depending on your qualifications you can join the CIPD at Associate, Licentiate or Graduate grade. CIPD membership is often valued by employers, so could be useful for your career development.

CIPD also runs a Professional Development Scheme (PDS) which you can study in four areas:

• Leadership and Management
• People Management and Development
• Specialist and Generalist Personnel and Development 
• Applied Personnel and Development.

If you complete all the modules you will be eligible for Graduate CIPD membership. There are no specific entry requirements, but the scheme does involve study equivalent to degree level.

You could work towards NVQs/SVQs at levels 3, 4 and 5 in Learning and Development. These can lead to CIPD membership at an appropriate level.

You will need to keep up to date with developments in training throughout your career. You can do this by doing short courses, adding to your qualifications, and networking and attending conferences through organisations such as CIPD. 

You could also develop your knowledge and skills by doing a postgraduate diploma or MSc degree in training and development. You may be able to remain in employment whilst studying as there are part-time or distance learning options. For entry you will usually need a degree, a professional training qualification, or substantial relevant work experience - contact individual universities for exact requirements.

Opportunities

Training officers work for a wide variety of organisations in both the private and public sectors. Depending on the size of the organisation, they may be part of a training team or of the human resources/personnel department. Some training officers work for commercial training providers that run courses for other organisations.

In a larger organisation you could have the opportunity to progress to senior training officer or training manager (see Training Manager profile). Smaller companies may not offer many promotion opportunities so you may need to move to a larger company in order to progress.

Once you have gained experience, it may be possible to become a freelance trainer or consultant.

Annual Income

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Training assistants can earn from around £16,000 to around £18,000 a year.
Training officers can earn between around £20,000 and around £28,000.

Further information

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