What is the difference between employee training and employee development? As a training specialist, does your expertise land more on training or on development?
The interviewer would like your perspective on training and development and the subtle nuances between the two terms. They would also like to know which area you are best versed in. As a training specialist, you may be tempted to think that your expertise is more in training; however, be sure to take a careful look at your background, work experience, and the specific needs of the hiring company before tailoring your response.
According to Gyrus, a company focused on cloud-based learning management systems, the difference between training and development is clear. The company explains in a blog post that employee training is generally:
- Short-term and based on a specific goal
- Job or role-focused, revolving around a specific need
- Based on enhancing a specific skill or element of knowledge
- Group-focused with the training responsibility primarily on the company
Development is then typically:
- Long-term, ongoing with open-ended goals
- Focused on the individual and their overall career progression
- Future-based and more conceptual in nature
- Personalized to individual plans where the employee is primarily responsible for their progress
"Great question. Training and development are often overlapped, but there are a few key differences in the scope and aim of each. Training involves teaching skills and knowledge needed to complete current job duties successfully. It focuses on addressing existing performance gaps and preparing employees for their everyday work.
Development takes a broader, longer-term approach. It centers on advancing capabilities needed for the future by providing learning that staff can apply to expanded responsibilities. While training pushes towards present proficiency, development pulls towards future potential.
As a training specialist, my expertise and passion land firmly on the development side. My goal is to help both individuals and the organization unlock future potential through programs that promote growth. I build skills like critical thinking, creativity, resilience, and change management that will serve employees in any role they grow into. I help establish competency-based career ladders so staff can advance based on their continual learning.
I aim to move beyond resolving surface-level performance issues. I specialize in understanding the root causes holding employees back from reaching their peak abilities and opportunities. I create personalized development roadmaps, from microlearning to graduate programs, that maximize human capital capabilities for whatever the future holds. My focus is sustained achievement, not quick fixes. "
Stay focused on the future in your response. Training focuses on building skills for an employee's current responsibilities - it is oriented in the now. Highlighting your experience with employee development underscores strategic abilities that drive high potential over time.
Emphasize competencies like problem-solving, creativity, learning agility, leadership, and communication. These capabilities amplify talent mobility as organizations and roles evolve quickly. Share how you've created development opportunities through exposure, stretch assignments, and mentoring and not just formal coursework.
Share your lens on nurturing potential. Discuss passion projects outside one's current scope. Offer examples of times you've sparked self-driven professional growth through supportive partnerships that empowered hidden talents to emerge and thrive over time.
The differentiator is your commitment to unleashing human gifts beyond what strict job descriptions currently warrant. Demonstrate understanding that development unlocks dormant abilities people didn't even realize they possessed, which pays exponential dividends to their careers and any business later on. That is the type of strategic, future-focused capabilities that training specialists should highlight in interviews! Use this guidance as a model for how to frame your expertise.
"My understanding is that training focuses on teaching a specific skill or process, typically to a group with a short-term goal. Development is a broader expansion, typically learning more in-depth application or working on personal, professional growth. Development tends to be focused on the long-term. I wholeheartedly believe that both training and development are critical components to an employee's success, which is why my education and background focus on both. However, my expertise lands more on the training side. Most of the training I have delivered is focused on enhancing a specific skill or element of knowledge. This focus will be a strong benefit to Company ABC since the primary focus of this training specialist role is to deliver training specifically in topics 1, 2, and 3. If the organization would like to add more long-term development-related activities, I can certainly focus on additional personalized employee development solutions."
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