Research Report
Employer-Sponsored Professional Development: Investing Today for a Stronger Workforce Tomorrow
| Format | Member | Non-Member |
|---|---|---|
- | $499.00 |
Organizations have become increasingly aware that ongoing skill development is critical for employees as business strategies, roles, and expectations change. In ATD’s 2026 State of the Industry report, TD professionals shared that their top priority for the coming year was bridging employee skills gaps. One of the ways organizations can address these gaps is by sponsoring employee professional development.
In Employer-Sponsored Professional Development: Investing Today for a Stronger Workforce Tomorrow, ATD Research examines what professional development opportunities organizations support, how they fund those opportunities, and the impact of professional development on organizations. The study also explores learners’ participation in and expectations for professional development. ATD Research surveyed 333 talent development (TD) professionals and 1,035 working Americans (learners).
Some key findings from this study include:
Organizations sponsor a variety of professional development opportunities. Conference attendance, licensure or certification, and formal classroom training are the most common.
Organizations are most likely to provide full financial support for online-learning subscriptions, formal classroom training, and conference attendance. They tend to provide partial financial support for higher education.
Learners rate their employer’s professional development support with nearly 4 out of 5 stars, on average.
Eighty-six percent of learners have participated in employer-sponsored professional development. They are most likely to participate in conference attendance, online-learning subscriptions, and formal classroom training.
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Book Details
ISBN: 9781970514711
Pages: 20
Publication Date: August 2026
Formats: PDF
Product Code: 792608