2008 Training Industry Report: Gauges & Drivers November 24, 2008 Training magazine's exclusive analysis of the U.S. training industry
2008 has been a tumultuous year for U.S. companies. The housing and financial services sectors are in a state of crisis. Manufacturers continueto cut their payrolls. Job losses also are mounting in the retail, hospitality, and business services sectors. As the third quarter draws to a close, the unemployment rate is near a record high, and several major financial institutions are close tobankruptcy, sending shockwaves throughout the rest of the economy.
When this study was conducted by Bersin & Associates in July-August, learning and development (L&D) organizations already were feeling the ill effects of the troubled economy, with many training organizations reducing their spending and staffing.
As a result, less training is being delivered—and by different methods. The rise of online training has come to a halt, as organizations switch to on-the-job training and less costly methods. Program spending allocations also have changed, with the priorities now on mandatory and job-specific training.
This report outlines some of the major trends facing U.S. training organizations. Data from the current Annual Industry Report is compared with that of previous years, providing an overall look at the state of the training industry today. One thing is for certain: It's not "business as usual."
Now in its 27th year, Training magazine's Industry Report provides data on training budgets, staffing, and programs. Again this year, the study was conducted by Bersin & Associates, a research and advisory firm focused on enterprise learning and talent management.
This year's study was conducted in July/August 2008, when members from the Training magazine database were e-mailed an invitation to participate in an online survey. Only U.S.-based corporations and educational institutions with 100 or more employees were included in the analysis. The data represents a cross-section of company sizes and industries. Note that the overall figures in this report are weighted according to the Dun & Bradstreet database, which favors small organizations since they dominate, in terms of sheer numbers, the U.S. market. Throughout this report, results are broken out by organization size to show the differences between small, midsize, and large companies.
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