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2023 Trends for the Training & Development Industry

The 2023 Training Industry Report by Training Magazine reveals that training expenditures remained stable from 2022-2023, with slight shifts in budget allocations and training strategies across U.S. organizations. Below are some of the key findings from the report, which surveys over 142,000 U.S. companies with 100 or more employees.

Survey Respondents Overview
  • 52% are managers or higher.
  • 64% are involved in purchasing products and services for training.
  • 37% increased their training staff from the previous year.
Training Expenditures

Training expenditures in the U.S. totaled $101.8 billion, a modest increase of 0.2% from 2022. However, training staff payroll dropped 9%, largely due to cuts in small companies, while spending on external vendors increased significantly:

  • External services/products: $10.1 billion (up 23%)
  • Other training expenses (e.g., travel, facilities): $28.7 billion
Average Training Budgets:
  • Large companies: $16.1 million (down from $19.2 million in 2022)
  • Midsize companies: $1.5 million (no change)
  • Small companies: $459,177 (up from $368,891 in 2022)
Key Budget Priorities

While fewer organizations reported budget increases in 2023 compared to 2022, most increases remained under 16%. Common reasons for budget increases included:

  • Expanded training program scope (64%)
  • Added training staff (54%)
  • Serving more learners (48%)

Budget cuts were primarily attributed to economic uncertainty, with 91% of organizations citing this reason.

Training Delivery Methods

Companies continued to adapt post-pandemic, mixing in-person and remote training. Key findings include:

  • Blended learning: 32% of total training hours (unchanged)
  • Virtual classrooms/webcasting: 28% (down from 33%)
  • In-person training: Increased, particularly for management, onboarding, and interpersonal skills.
Learning Technology Use

Training technology continues to evolve, though organizations are cautious about adopting newer technologies. The most widely used tools in 2023 were:

  • Learning Management Systems (LMS): 89%
  • Virtual classroom/webcasting: 85%
  • Rapid eLearning tools: 44%

However, newer technologies like virtual reality (10%) and artificial intelligence (9%) are still in limited use.

Outsourcing Trends

Training outsourcing saw a rise in 2023, with large companies spending an average of $1.2 million. LMS operations and hosting are the most outsourced functions, but most organizations (85%) plan to keep outsourcing levels steady in 2024.

Future Training Priorities

Looking ahead, organizations plan to focus on:

  • Increasing training program effectiveness (26%)
  • Enhancing learner engagement (18%)

Management and supervisory training, onboarding, and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs will likely see the greatest funding increases in the coming year.

Picture of Linda Guyette
Linda Guyette Anderson, Founder and Principal of DTG, has nearly 30 years of experience in the professional skills training and consulting industry. She served on the Denver-based team that executed and managed IBM's North American Leadership Excellence Series for more than 12 years. In addition to managing training and consulting firms, Linda has spent the past 15 years developing and launching web and learning platforms for training consultants and educators.

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