The Trainer's Handbook

Preface

The field of workplace learning and development is growing by leaps and bounds. Along with the growth of the industry comes the demand for trainers. For our purposes, “trainer” refers to anyone who is responsible for delivering primarily classroom instruction, but with the growing use of technology in training, the term also applies to someone who may be designing and delivering nonclassroom-based training as well. A trainer might be an internal HRD professional responsible for providing training to the organization's employees. A trainer can also be a subject-matter expert who has been enlisted as a full-time professional trainer. Another category of trainers includes those who deliver training on a part-time basis as part of their overall job responsibilities. The term also applies to the external practitioner who contracts with an organization to design and/or deliver training programs. Often the external trainer is a casualty of corporate downsizing or maybe someone who just wants a career change. In either case, this individual has turned to the training profession as a means of utilizing skills or expertise in a particular discipline or subject area.

Internal or external, full-time or part-time, the demand for trainers often exceeds the supply. To meet this need, organizations often turn to those in line positions as a talent pool for trainers. More and more, people are being asked to deliver training as part of their jobs. These “nontrainers” or subject-matter experts ...