I started off teaching high school english, and then went on to become a content specialist on the county level for a very large school district. There I trained teachers on the best way to teach english and reading to middle and high school students. Later, I went back to the school building as a coach, but eventually left teaching to work in the eduction publishing business. Now, I am a contractor for a major teacher training organization, and I agree with most of the comments and the article, there is plenty of money out there for education training. What politician wants to be responsible for cutting education funding? As a contractor I earn in one day of training what it once took me over 2 weeks to make as a public school teacher. Last month, I worked a grand total of 4 days! i do have to travel to locations, and while I'm at home, I must spend time preparing for my trainings and coaching online, but I love this job and it is so worth the risk. With my credentials, I figure if this work dries up, I can always go back to teaching. I've made strong connections with school districts across the country who would love to have someone with my experience on staff full time. Plus, when I come to a school district, I am in communication with the decision makers, principals, superintendents, etc, who are great resources to have when looking for a job. I also agree that online training is the way to go, I have a elearning certificate and my masters in instructional systems design/human performance technology. I actually think all classroom teachers to learn T and D, perhaps then we'd see better scores on high stakes test
Zoe
of MD
@
Nov 01, 2009 07:04:44 AM
Corporate Training - A Line of Work That Has Almost Disappeared
I had been an instructional designer / electronic learning application designer / corporate trainer for over 10 years when the field slowly evaporated, finishing up with near disappearance during the current recession.
The idea that it's come back as "one of the hottest, most secure jobs" is laughable.
What really happened and how's the training business now?
1. The ever increasing downsizing and outsourcing during the past decade led to far fewer hires of new employees. No new employees = no trainees. No trainees = no training. No training = no trainers. No trainers = no instructional designers.
2. Company after company that was once successful offering training consultation and "train the trainer" workshops first downsized, then went broke and closed their doors. Companies that made training materials (such as training videos and interactive training courses) also first downsized, then went broke and downsized.
3. There are now over 100 highly experienced applicants for the few jobs in the training area that open up.
So what to expect in the future?
The training field may come back in a small way as the economy improves and hiring starts again. BUT ...
The first hires in all fields will be re-hires of laid off workers who already have been fully trained. Until the supply of these workers dries up, no further training or trainers will be required.
This will happen in the training field as well. Until the thousands upon thousands of surplussed trainers, instructional designers and producers of training materials get re-hired, no beginners need apply. If you don't already have 5 to 10 years of paid experience and good references in the field, you don't stand a chance of getting a job unless a parent or sibling owns the company that's doing the hiring.
Let's face it ... the outsourced manufacturing jobs aren't coming back. Companies will be very conservative about hiring new workers for years. The glut of experienced workers will take years to get re-absorbed into the workforce. As a result, getting a job in this field will be extremely difficult for the foreseeable future.
Do you really want to invest the time it takes to get qualified for a field like this?
If you want to get into education - get a K-12 teaching degree and license. Public school education is the ONLY growing field in the eduction and training sector (thanks in large measure to Federal stimulus money). Note that the article here indicated you will have to spend years as a teacher and probably work yourself up to the rank of administrator or principal (what percentage of teachers manage to do that?) before you can become a "curriculum / training specialist" even as a fully trained and licensed public school teacher.
BTW ... did I forget to mention that most K-12 teachers enter the field with a job in backwater places that experienced teachers don't want to live in?
David Katz
of WI
@
Nov 01, 2009 01:03:15 AM
Link to Google Jobs from Home
Does anyone know if this website is legitamit? The link in the above article leads to such a website. It does not seem to be real. Tried to add comment on their website or select anything but "access" does not work.
Got a password, but nowhere to sign in.
Thanks.
LL
of TX
@
Oct 30, 2009 19:09:46 PM
Corporate Trainers
Is cross cultural training or conflict resolution training popular right now?
Lisa
of FL
@
Jul 22, 2009 20:36:12 PM
Finding Jobs as a Corporate Trainer
Jobs for trainers in the corporate sector are scarce right now. In the current economy, training positions are the first jobs to be eliminated. Doing contract work is probably the best bet during times like this. The key is to find a need in the marketplace and seek out opportunities to fulfill that need. It may require getting some additional training for oneself in order to obtain subject matter expertise. Getting involved in a local chapter of ASTD is a great way to obtain training, to network, and to find out about opportunities for trainers. When the economy improves, those who are networking and doing contract work will be the first to get jobs in the corporate sector. Don't wait for the economy to turn around, but get busy and find a way to put your skills to use, even if you do it on a volunteer basis. The economy will improve and those who are actively working to improve their skills and put them to use now will reap the benefits in the future.
Gary Johnson
of CA
@
May 08, 2009 12:52:50 PM
Corporate Training
I worked as a Corporate Trainer years ago and want to get back in the field. I am having a difficult time finding links and leads. Can anyone help? Thanks
P Pilley
of NC
@
May 04, 2009 17:41:09 PM
Breaking into the Industry
I love training especially in the corporate world. When I first started going to college I was majoring in Education the when I started working for my company and got a promotion, I was out in the new-hire training class, at first as coach then I advanced and started facilitating classes, unfortunatley due the recession, I lost that job. However I've been looking for jobs as a training specialist or a trainer, and most of them want you to have degree and so many years of expereince, but how can you get the experiance when no one will hire you without a degree.
Taye
of TX
@
Mar 02, 2009 02:54:32 AM
Training Specialist -D
It has been 5 years but I love training today as much as I did the first day. No doubt that in these tough economic times training specialists are not safe. However, I am a believer that for any State, Company, or Municipality to succeed its training and development division remains key to its sustained success. With the foreboding economic tides, and the paradigm shift of politics in this age, no one is sure as uncertainness looms large and stability less.
D
Donald Sexton
of TN
@
Jan 30, 2009 14:50:17 PM
I agree wholeheartedly.
As an undergraduate I had a dream of becoming a Professor one day. I'm not saying I may never try it, but I'm beginning to realize that my passionate interest in teaching may better serve as a curriculum/training specialist (particularly in technology). After completing my Master's degree in History and making a substantial cross-country move, I took a part-time position for a Teaching & Learning Center at a community college and I find myself re-thinking my career aspirations.
Straight-up training is definitely something that can become automated and outsourced, but the ability to thoughtfully improve the quality of the education and technology on a campus can't be done by a "trainer." It takes experience and empathy to evaluate teaching, technology, and curriculum needs. In a bad economy, no position is safe, and some institutions may feel that these positions can be cut. Those same institutions will come up short when they're trying to stay competitive against others with more up-to-date technology, a stronger and more unified curriculum, and a better overall college culture.
JA
of OR
@
Jan 21, 2009 14:28:08 PM
Corporate training & ID in Canada
In my experience in Canada, this article is right on the money (literally) moreso for corporate training and performance solution development. All we can do is continue to learn and innovate to better manage change (internal and external) to survive and thrive in today's dynamic world, regardless of the economic situation. More companies are realizing that (to cite Stolovitch's book title) "Training Ain't Performance" and that measuring training results must be more than "smiley sheets" and "butts in seats." Training needs to be well designed, developed, and implemented with a formative evaluation-feedback loop. We must demonstrate that company-sponsored grassroots-based workplace learning and also top-down training initiatives add measurable value (i.e., achieve results at all levels), not just acting as a cost center without ROI. I see a lot of opportunties for training/development and organizational performance consulting in the future. Continuous learning and improvement touches every field and amounts to investing in sustainability and capacity-building for individuals and organizations. In the economic downturn, we must network, market our transferrable for alternate work forms to "jobs" (consulting, international work, virtual teams, etc). When one door closes another should open.
Zoe of MD @ Nov 01, 2009 07:04:44 AM
David Katz of WI @ Nov 01, 2009 01:03:15 AM
LL of TX @ Oct 30, 2009 19:09:46 PM
Lisa of FL @ Jul 22, 2009 20:36:12 PM
Gary Johnson of CA @ May 08, 2009 12:52:50 PM
P Pilley of NC @ May 04, 2009 17:41:09 PM
Taye of TX @ Mar 02, 2009 02:54:32 AM
Donald Sexton of TN @ Jan 30, 2009 14:50:17 PM
JA of OR @ Jan 21, 2009 14:28:08 PM
Karen Carleton @ Jan 09, 2009 14:01:28 PM
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