Benchmarks and Trends From the 2025 State of the Industry Report

In May of 2025, ATD Research published its annual State of the Industry report, which explores industry data from 2024 that organizations can use to understand TD trends and make data-informed decisions for their TD functions. Five hundred thirty-nine organizations, representing a diverse range of industries and organizations, provided the data for this report

In 2024, the average number of formal learning hours used per employee was 13.7, down from 17.4 in 2023. Over the past several years, the industry has seen a decrease in the number of formal learning hours used. One possible explanation is the growing use of informal learning, which occurs outside of structured programs or classes. The report includes data on the use of various informal learning methods such as mentoring, coaching, stretch assignments, and more. Mentoring and coaching are some of the most commonly used methods, while rotational training programs are some of the least.

Formal learning hours can be used in a variety of content areas, such as executive development training, customer service training, communication skills training, AI skills training, and more. 2024 saw an increase in the percentage of organizations providing both AI practical skills training and AI technical skills training. AI practical skills training includes topics on prompt writing, problem solving with AI, and AI ethics. AI technical skills training includes topics on machine learning, programming languages, and natural language processing. ATD Research believes that the importance of AI training is here to stay, with nearly two-thirds of respondents expecting their organizations to increase these training offerings in the future.

The report also looks at data points related to various characteristics of TD departments across the industry. In 2024, more than one-third of organizations increased their TD staff headcount, meaning that they added new positions to their department. This does not include replacing employees who left the organization or department. Human resources and organization development professionals, trainers and facilitators, instructional designers, and training and talent development coordinators were the most commonly added positions.

This has been a small snapshot of the data included in ATD’s 2025 State of the Industry report. To explore additional data points and get a look at the data broken out by organization size and industry, download the report here. The report is free to members and available at an additional cost for non-members. Thank you to Absorb for sponsoring this report.