Association for Talent Development history

ASTD Affiliation Although the American Society of Training Directors (later changed to American Society for Training and Development) was organized in 1944, its membership remained relatively small during World War II.

It was decided that the group would meet on a quarterly basis, and the first regular meeting was held in Columbia (at the Jefferson Hotel) on December 14, 1946.

The Society held its first two-day conference, the Industrial Economics Conference, at Clemson College in 1949.

Affiliation was confirmed in early 1950 for the “Carolinas Society for Training and Development (CSTD).”

In 1952 the Society began meeting twice a year.

During the 60’s and 70’s CSTD became an active influence in ASTD. In 1967 Ken Scarlett (CSTD President ‘61-’62) was selected as ASTD Regional Vice President.

Craig Musick served as CSTD president in ‘72-’73 and was elected National ASTD President in 1980.

CSTD was recognized for its professional programs by hosting the Region 4 ASTD Conference in 1981.

Formal learning hours are up almost 15% from 2012, which suggests that the amount of time employees spend on learning and development is increasing at a steady clip.

For more than 70 years the association was known as ASTD. In 2014, the organization changed its name to the Association for Talent Development (ATD) to reflect the global nature and broad scope of its members’ work.

When looking at total learning hours available, 40% of an organization’s hours were spent in a traditional classroom setting, down from 53% in 2018.

However, it’s worth noting that the data contained in this report was submitted for the 2019 fiscal or calendar year, so the pandemic’s effects on learning and development are yet to be seen.

ATD 2020 State of Industry Report

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