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- Organise and run training and learning programmes for organisations
- You could focus on a particular specialism (like health and safety) or provide a broad range of training
- Opportunities to progress into management roles or become a freelance trainer
Learning and development officers or training officers work within an organisation to develop and sometimes deliver training and personal development programmes for their staff.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Identifying individual and organisational training needs through staff appraisals and meetings with managers
- Designing, delivering and assessing training programmes
- Creating training materials
- Monitoring trainees' progress
- Developing appraisal schemes to match organisation needs
- Making sure training is cost-effective and within budget
- You could also be responsible for a particular area of work, like management development or health and safety
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You'll usually work regular office hours, but you might need to work additional hours if you're involved in residential courses, workshops, or if your organisation operates a shift system. You'll be office-based, but may travel between sites or to training venues like hotels or conference centres.
You'll need
You'll need the ability to work well with people at all levels, excellent spoken and written communication skills, organisational skills, planning and time management skills, presentation skills, the ability to encourage and motivate people, negotiating and influencing skills, the ability to write clear reports and keep accurate records, and IT skills.
Although not essential, it may be be useful to do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree in human resources management, organisational development, or business management.
Many employers will expect you to have some form of professional qualification or accreditation from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Some university courses will gain you this accreditation, or you can study for their qualifications independently or with the support of your employer.
You could also start as an assistant in a human resources (HR) or organisational development department and work your way up, or you could move into learning and development from another job within an organisation and then study for relevant qualifications, or get into this job by doing an advanced apprenticeship as a learning and development practitioner.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience, you could become a senior learning and development officer, a learning and development manager, or progress to become a senior leader in Human Resources or Organisational Development. You could also become a freelance trainer or consultant.