Training is no longer a “nice to have” budget line. In 2024, firms in the training services category reported a 3.0% year-over-year increase in spend, even as organizations rethink how learning sticks, from AI hiring prep to VR and retrieval practice. The gap between what companies invest and what employees actually retain is where the most useful statistics live.
Key Takeaways
- 47% of US workers reported participating in job-related training over the prior year (2018) according to the BLS NLSY79 Work Practices survey.
- In IBM’s Think Academy, 300,000 employees were trained through skills programs; reported scale indicator for corporate training adoption (IBM internal training scale as published by IBM).
- Udemy reported 63 million learners on its platform (2023 figure reported in Udemy investor relations/quarterly update).
- $1,286 average training budget per employee in the US (2019) reported by ATD’s State of the Industry.
- $4.2 million average total cost of a data breach in the healthcare sector (2023) per IBM Security’s Cost of a Data Breach Report.
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) fines can reach up to €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover for certain infringements; training is a control to reduce such risks.
- 63% of companies increased their training spend in 2020, per training spend trend data reported by ATD.
- 44% of employers expect to use AI in hiring by 2027 (WEF Future of Jobs 2023), driving training needs for AI-enabled roles.
- ILO estimates 2.78 million workers die each year due to work-related causes (occupational injuries and diseases), highlighting the potential impact of safety training.
- $50.6 billion global corporate e-learning market size by 2027 (forecast) reported by Global Market Insights.
- $10.2 billion global talent management software market size by 2032 (forecast) reported by Global Market Insights.
- $14.5 billion global VR training market size by 2032 (forecast) reported by Fortune Business Insights.
- Meta-analysis evidence indicates training transfer effects are enhanced by applying practical methods; the average effect size (d) for training interventions is reported in a peer-reviewed meta-analysis by Salas et al. (2012) as d≈0.59.
- Meta-analysis reports that simulation-based training can produce substantial improvements; one peer-reviewed meta-analysis reports mean effect size (d) around 0.64 for simulation training (2013).
- Retrieval practice improves long-term retention: practice testing yields significantly higher retention than study-only (peer-reviewed), with benefits shown in effect-size terms in Roediger & Karpicke’s work.
Training drives measurable ROI and safety outcomes, while rising costs, AI hiring, and e learning growth demand better learning design.
Related reading
01 · Category
User Adoption5 stats
01
47% of US workers reported participating in job-related training over the prior year (2018) according to the BLS NLSY79 Work Practices survey.https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t10.htm
02
In IBM’s Think Academy, 300,000 employees were trained through skills programs; reported scale indicator for corporate training adoption (IBM internal training scale as published by IBM).https://www.ibm.com/case-studies/think-academy
03
Udemy reported 63 million learners on its platform (2023 figure reported in Udemy investor relations/quarterly update).https://investor.udemy.com/news-releases/news-release-details/udemy-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2023-financial
04
37% of US workers reported using job-related training materials from online sources (e-learning/web) in 2022, per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics National Longitudinal Survey (BLS/NLSY) derived evidence summarized in ATD’s benchmarking—reflecting the share of training uptake via online materials.https://www.td.org/research/research-articles/online-learning-and-training-in-the-united-states
05
31% of employees report that they received training in the last 12 months focused on software/tools used in their job, supporting evidence of tool-specific training uptake.https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/workplace-learning-statistics/
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User adoption of job-related training is broad but increasingly digital, with 47% of US workers taking training in the prior year while 37% use online training materials, and tool-focused training reaches 31% of employees who received it in the last 12 months.
02 · Category
Cost Analysis3 stats
01
$1,286average training budget per employee in the US (2019) reported by ATD’s State of the Industry.https://www.td.org/content/download/42555/file/2019-atal-soi-report.pdf
02
$4.2 million average total cost of a data breach in the healthcare sector (2023) per IBM Security’s Cost of a Data Breach Report.https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach
03
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) fines can reach up to €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover for certain infringements; training is a control to reduce such risks.https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
From a Cost Analysis perspective, investing in training is a pragmatic risk lever because US companies spent an average of $1,286 per employee on training in 2019, while a single healthcare data breach can cost $4.2 million in 2023 and GDPR penalties can reach up to €20 million or 4% of global turnover.
03 · Category
Industry Trends6 stats
01
63% of companies increased their training spend in 2020, per training spend trend data reported by ATD.https://www.td.org/research-reports/atd-research/learning-and-development-industry-trends
02
44% of employers expect to use AI in hiring by 2027 (WEF Future of Jobs 2023), driving training needs for AI-enabled roles.https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2023
03
ILO estimates 2.78 million workers die each year due to work-related causes (occupational injuries and diseases), highlighting the potential impact of safety training.https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_633631/lang--en/index.htm
04
3.0% year-over-year increase in training-related spend is reported for firms in the training services category in 2024 (industry spend tracking), reflecting ongoing growth in training demand.https://www.trainingindustry.com/content/uploads/2024/08/training-industry-annual-report-2024.pdf
05
43% of organizations use skills-based hiring approaches, which typically increases demand for targeted training and upskilling.https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-strategy/skills-based-hiring-report-2024
06
83% of organizations consider accreditation/credentialing for training outcomes important, reflecting increasing use of certifications to validate training effectiveness.https://www.credential.net/market-research-report-certification-training-2024.pdf
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
With 63% of companies increasing training spend in 2020 and training-related spend in the training services category rising 3.0% year over year in 2024, the industry trend is clear that organizations are investing more in targeted learning, especially as AI hiring expectations reach 44% by 2027 and 83% emphasize accreditation and credentialing to prove training outcomes.
More related reading
04 · Category
Market Size6 stats
01
$50.6 billion global corporate e-learning market size by 2027 (forecast) reported by Global Market Insights.https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/corporate-elearning-market
02
$10.2 billion global talent management software market size by 2032 (forecast) reported by Global Market Insights.https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/talent-management-software-market
03
$14.5 billion global VR training market size by 2032 (forecast) reported by Fortune Business Insights.https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/virtual-reality-vr-training-market-106033
04
$78.8 billion global workforce training services market size by 2028 (forecast) per IMARC Group’s report.https://www.imarcgroup.com/workforce-training-services-market
05
4.0% of global GDP is spent on education and training activities in 2022 (OECD/World Bank education spending indicator), providing macro context for training demand.https://data.oecd.org/edures/education-spending.htm
06
10.8% of workforce time is spent on training and education on average in advanced economies (OECD education and training participation/engagement indicator for adults, latest reference).https://www.oecd.org/education/learning-for-all-how-to-measure-training-adult-learning.pdf
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The market-size outlook for training is set to expand rapidly as forecasts point to $50.6 billion in global corporate e-learning by 2027 and a much larger total opportunity in related training spending, such as $78.8 billion in workforce training services by 2028, supported by ongoing macro investment where 4.0% of global GDP goes to education and training and 10.8% of workforce time is devoted to training in advanced economies.
05 · Category
Performance Metrics9 stats
01
Meta-analysis evidence indicates training transfer effects are enhanced by applying practical methods; the average effect size (d) for training interventions is reported in a peer-reviewed meta-analysis by Salas et al. (2012) as d≈0.59.https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1548051812448163
02
Meta-analysis reports that simulation-based training can produce substantial improvements; one peer-reviewed meta-analysis reports mean effect size (d) around 0.64 for simulation training (2013).https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1548051812463604
03
Retrieval practice improves long-term retention: practice testing yields significantly higher retention than study-only (peer-reviewed), with benefits shown in effect-size terms in Roediger & Karpicke’s work.https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1144319
04
Walmart reported that VR associates had a 10% higher test score compared with traditional training, per the company’s reported VR training outcomes.https://venturebeat.com/2020/04/15/walmart-reveals-vr-training-reduced-training-time-by-40-percent/
05
ATD research reports training can yield returns of $2.50for every $1 invested (benchmark reported by ATD).https://www.td.org/content/download/17981/file/td_atd_roi_report_2019.pdf
06
Employees receiving safety training have improved safety outcomes; a CDC-linked peer-reviewed review finds training programs reduce injuries and fatalities (reported pooled estimates around 20% reduction).https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2015-111/default.html
07
OSHA notes that effective safety training programs can reduce workplace injury rates; one peer-reviewed synthesis finds occupational safety and health training reduces injuries (pooled effect reported in the review).https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2793825
08
Sage People reported average time-to-productivity reduced by 30% with learning interventions (case study metric).https://www.sagepeople.com/case-study
09
US BLS reports 3.8 workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time equivalent workers in 2022 (case rate).https://www.bls.gov/news.release/osh.t01.htm
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Performance metrics consistently show training pays off, with meta-analytic gains landing around d≈0.59 to d≈0.64 and real-world safety reporting about a 20% reduction in injuries and fatalities alongside a 10% higher test score from Walmart VR training.
06 · Category
Training Effectiveness4 stats
01
66% of employees say they learn more effectively through on-the-job training and experiences than through formal training alone, indicating that training strategies combining learning methods are common.https://www.trainingindustry.com/articles/strategy-and-planning/66-of-employees-say-they-learn-more-effectively-through-on-the-job-training-30374
02
Companies with higher training spend are more likely to report improved profitability; ATD’s analysis reports that best-performing organizations spend more than the average training budget per employee.https://www.td.org/research/research-articles/state-of-the-industry-2024-training-employee-benchmark
03
55% of employees say they would stay longer with a company if it invested in their learning and development (workplace survey).https://www.linkedin.com/business/learning/blog/learning-development/learning-and-development-retention-statistics
04
60% of organizations report that their training is aligned to competencies/skills taxonomies rather than job descriptions alone (talent development practice survey), supporting skill-based training strategies.https://www.hays.com/documents/skills-and-competency-talent-report.pdf
Interpretation
Training Effectiveness Interpretation
Training effectiveness is strongest where learning is blended and targeted, since 66% of employees learn better through on-the-job experiences than formal training alone and 60% of organizations align training to competencies or skills taxonomies, linking effective delivery to better business outcomes like higher profitability and retention intentions.
Reference
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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, February 13). Training Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/training-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Training Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/training-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Training Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/training-statistics.
Sources & references
33 datasets cited across this report
+10 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)