What does the future hold for environment, health, and safety (EHS) professionals? Where do they get paid the best, and where are prospects dimming? Yesterday we looked at recent trends for safety and health engineers and emergency management directors. Today we will take a peek at what jobs look like for EHS professionals interested in training. Here’s a hint: Bone up on technology and social media!
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Note: Median salaries for this article have been compiled from BLR’s EHS Salary Guides.
Training and Development Specialist
Training and development specialists conduct training and development programs for employees.
The Table below outlines median salaries for training and development specialists from 2014–2016, nationwide and for the states with the highest and lowest median salary.
Table: Median Salaries for Training and Development Specialists, 2014–2016
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
| Nationwide | $57,987 | $58,544 | $59,549 |
| Highest median | $72,573 (Washington) | $69,540 (Massachusetts) | $74,444 (Rhode Island) |
| Lowest median | $42,493 (Arkansas) | $41,616 (West Virginia) | $44,388 (West Virginia) |
Although training and development specialists are paid the best in Rhode Island, Vermont saw the largest percentage jump in median income for this job, which went from $47,058 in 2015 to $55,385 in 2016—a jump of 17.70%. West Virginia had the lowest median income for training and development specialists in 2016, but Nevada took the biggest dive for this job—from $53,194 in 2015 to $49,708 in 2016, a -6.55% drop.
According to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of training and development specialists is expected to grow 7% by 2024 (baseline 2014).
The BLS expects this growth to be across most industries as companies develop and introduce new media and technology into their training programs. Innovations in training methods and learning technology should continue throughout the next decade. For example, organizations increasingly use social media, visual simulations, and mobile learning in their training programs. Training and development specialists will need to modify their programs to fit a new generation of workers for whom technology is a part of daily life and work.
According to the BLS, contracting and consulting firms may see an increase in business, as these firms have greater access to technology and technical expertise to produce new training initiatives. And, some organizations will outsource specific training efforts when internal staff or resources are not able to meet the training needs of the organization.
In addition, as Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age and beginning to leave the workforce, organizations need capable training and development staff to train their replacements. The need to replace a large workforce of highly skilled and knowledgeable employees should result in organizations increasing their training staff or contracting out services to sustain a workforce of high-quality employees and to maintain a competitive edge.