Human Resource Development: The New Trainer's Guide

What does your mommy do?
I'm not sure. But I think she develops human race
horses.

Human resource development (HRD) has been growing at an astonishing rate both in the United States and around the world. Recent reports by the Bureau of Labor Statistics identifies HRD as one of the fastest growing professions in America.

In the last several years, the field of human resource development has been growing at an astronomical rate in the United States. Today's estimates place training expenditures in the United States at well over $100 billion annually. While this may sound like an exceedingly high amount to many of us, some authorities contend that this figure still undervalues the total costs! Other studies have shown the amount spent on HRD is in the neighborhood of $200 billion annually. Some authorities estimate that over one million people in America spend a portion of their time performing training and development activities. Of this number, it is further estimated that around 200,000 of us are full-time trainers.

The American Society for Training and Development, the world's largest professional organization devoted to the development of human resources, has continually addressed itself to a further definition of the field. The past few years have clearly shown a continuing changing role for the HRD professional. The main thrust of which addresses workplace learning and on-the-job performance.

Human resource development is an exciting career field that provides many opportunities for trainers to grow and develop their skills. Because of the variety of activities involved in training, there is no reason for a trainer to become bored. Researching, analyzing, writing, training, leading group meetings, and platform speaking are among the various assignments that both new and experienced trainers perform.

Productivity and performance concerns caused many chief executive officers to realize and acknowledge that the productivity problem was also a "people problem." Today, more than ever before, managers realize that the long-term success of any organization is tied closely to employee training and development. To be prepared for

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