Employee Training Statistics: Cost of Progress in 2024

Is employee training and development more important to companies or workers themselves? There seems to be a consensus between parties that it’s crucial for mutual growth, but not a lot is done by the companies at this point.

Check out our compilation of employee training statistics that might make you rethink how you organize your workplace as a business owner—or rethink your job arrangements as an employee.


Find in This Article: Top 11 Training Statistics

  1. 68% of workers consider training and development opportunities an organization’s most important policy.
  2. Companies that invest in training have a 24% higher profit margin.
  3. Learning and training at a workplace are important to 87% of millennials.
  4. Employee retention rate grows by 30–50% at companies with a potent training program.
  5. 12% of employees claim they use the knowledge acquired through training to do their job.
  6. Ineffective training costs companies $13.5 million per 1000 employees annually.
  7. 94% of employees would stick with an organization longer if it invested in their training.
  8. 74% of workers consider lack of development programs as the reason they’re not unlocking their full potential.
  9. 59% of employees say they received no formal training for the position they work in.
  10. 56% of Human Resources Managers find employee training a business staple.
  11. 70% of surveyed workers would be tempted to leave their current workplace for a company that invests in employee development.

Why Is Training Important in 2022?

Both companies and employees could largely benefit from training programs and upskilling, but millennials seem to be especially willing to leave a job if they don’t feel like they’re improving.

1. 68% of workers consider training and development opportunities an organization’s most important policy.

Further developing their skills and learning new ones has become one of the most important aspects that today’s workers look for in a company. Providing the ground for progress can give organizations a significant hiring advantage.

2. Companies that invest in training have a 24% higher profit margin, ASTD reports.

The American Society for Training and Development has uncovered some interesting employee training statistics—apart from the disparity in profit margins compared to their competitors, companies eager to invest in training and development also have a 218% higher income per employee.

3. Learning and training at a workplace are important to 87% of millennials. 

Millennials are uncompromising when it comes to development in the workplace—86% of them claim they would’ve stayed at their jobs if they were offered training by the employer.

Another 59% claim that development is an extremely important aspect to consider before applying for a certain position and for overall job satisfaction.

4. Employee retention rate grows by 30–50% at companies with a potent training program.

Training and employee retention go hand in hand—inadequate employee training accounts for 40% of resignations.

Additionally, companies that have less-than-impressive onboarding practices and aren’t eager at training new employees are twice as likely to lose employees.

How Effective Is Employee Training?

Employee training and development is important, but it’s apparent that it’s not a well-thought-out process yet—at least according to these stats:

5. Just 12% of employees claim they use the knowledge acquired through training to do their job.

A thorough employee training survey by 24×7 Learning a few years back showed that one of the most problematic aspects of development programs is not addressing the actual needs of employees through training.

With 88% of surveyed learners not using the acquired knowledge, it’s important for companies to offer something of substance to their employees. Otherwise, the training is only a waste of money and time for everyone involved.

6. Ineffective training costs companies $13.5 million per 1000 employees annually.

A recent Harvard Business Review survey disclosed that companies spend $350 billion on training their employees every year.

The problem? It’s ineffective, with the average money wasted per employee being $13,500.

Lack of Training in the Workplace: 2022 Statistics and Facts

Despite agreeing on the importance of employee training for the company’s growth, the employers still seem to be shockingly behind on this essential workplace issue.

7. 94% of employees would stick with an organization longer if it invested in their training.

Being willing to put aside a budget to invest in employees’ training is a key to their loyalty. The more they feel like their progress is being prioritized, the less likely they are to look for other opportunities.

8. 74% of workers consider lack of development programs as the reason they’re not unlocking their full potential.

All employee development statistics paint the same picture: workers are more than eager to improve their performance and learn new skills at the workplace.

Almost two-thirds of them consider a lack of employee training and development as one of the main reasons they’re unable to achieve their full potential at work, while another 70% feel they lack the proper training and skills for the job they’re entrusted with.

9. 59% of employees say they received no formal training for the position they work in.

Over half of employees claim they learned the skills necessary to successfully do work tasks on their own.

Another 59% invest in their own skills and progress, at least to a certain extent.

10. 56% of Human Resources Managers find employee training and development a business staple.

The issue here is the disparity between what HR managers know and how much they’re actually trying to enable the employees’ progress. 

A discouraging statistic comes from the US Bureau of Labor, indicating that managers working in a 100-workers firm provide 12 minutes of their time to train their employees—per month. Companies with 100–500 workers spend six minutes on employee training for the same period.

11. 70% of surveyed workers would be tempted to leave their current workplace for a company that invests in employee development.

This indicates that the employee turnover rate could be lower for many companies if they’d start investing in a proper training and development program.

The motivation for 34% of workers who quit their jobs was the prospect of improvement and development at some other company.

Employee Training Statistics and FAQs

How much does it cost to train an employee?

The latest available expenditure report dates back to 2020 and the rollercoaster of the pandemic and its effects. There was an overall 82.5 billion dollars spent on training that year, but the number was already dropping compared to 2017 ($93 billion).

This makes the average training cost per employee as follows:

  • 100–999 employees: $1,678 per employee
  • 1,000–9,999 employees: $581 per employee
  • 10,000+ employees: $924 per employee

How long should employee training be?

While there’s no rule that applies to all businesses (especially considering the inefficiency of most training programs), here’s how much time companies of different sizes allocated for training in 2020:

  • 100–999 employees: 41.2 hours per employee
  • 1,000–9,999 employees: 34.7 hours per employee
  • 10,000+ employees: 102.6 hours per employee

How much do corporate trainers make?

Current corporate training rates (at a 50,000-employee company) can earn you six figures—$100,953. 

Those who work with average-sized corporations (with 100–499 employees) earn an average of $76,137. Interestingly, companies with less than one hundred employees pay the trainers an average of $81,759.

Does training increase productivity?

The 2022 employee training statistics show that training increases employee productivity

Better trained employees are more likely to take more control over their work, engage in creative thinking and problem-solving process. Therefore, they need less supervision, which simultaneously makes them more satisfied with their jobs.


Sources

Clear Company, Gartner, Grovo, HBR, Huffpost, The Learning Wave, LinkedIn Learning, Lorman, Statista, Workplace Learning Report, ZenBusiness, 2020 Training Industry Report