Director, learning and development vs training manager

The differences between directors, learning and development and training managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a director, learning and development and a training manager. Additionally, a director, learning and development has an average salary of $92,733, which is higher than the $73,453 average annual salary of a training manager.

The top three skills for a director, learning and development include human resources, training programs and project management. The most important skills for a training manager are customer service, leadership, and brainstorming.

Director, learning and development vs training manager overview

	Director, Learning And Development	Training Manager
Yearly salary	$92,733	$73,453
Hourly rate	$44.58	$35.31
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	72,265	121,521
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	4

What does a director, learning and development do?

A director of learning and development is primarily in charge of spearheading efforts to improve the workforce in a company. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting strategies to find out areas that need improvement, coordinating with departments and staff, producing various training programs that will sharpen the employee's skills, and crafting skills assessment activities. There are also instances when a director must create progress reports and presentations, manage schedules, and liaise with clients and stakeholders. Furthermore, as the director, it is essential to implement the policies and guidelines of the company.

What does a training manager do?

A training manager is responsible for directing new staff with the tasks and training programs, leading the business to its growth and profitable development. Training managers' duties include supervising the staff's performance and improvement, facilitating knowledge assessment and developmental training, sharing strategic plans and techniques, creating effective training manuals, monitoring training expenses, and evaluating areas of improvement. A training manager must have excellent leadership and communication skills, as well as extensive experience on how to improve the team's performance and enhance their capabilities.

Director, learning and development vs training manager salary

Directors, learning and development and training managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director, Learning And Development	Training Manager
Average salary	$92,733	$73,453
Salary range	Between $61,000 And $138,000	Between $45,000 And $119,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Google	Microsoft
Best paying industry	Finance	Government

Differences between director, learning and development and training manager education

There are a few differences between a director, learning and development and a training manager in terms of educational background:

	Director, Learning And Development	Training Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

Director, learning and development vs training manager demographics

Here are the differences between directors, learning and development' and training managers' demographics:

	Director, Learning And Development	Training Manager
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 42.4% Female, 57.6%	Male, 52.8% Female, 47.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 4.5% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 4.1% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	18%	18%

Differences between director, learning and development and training manager duties and responsibilities

Director, learning and development example responsibilities.

Manage RFP process to identify best-in-class e-Learning development providers.
Lead the implementation of eLearning courses design to support trainer certification process.
Base on results, ask to serve in newly create CLO role.
Maintain accurate training records and documentation to report ROI statistics.
Increase organizational commitment to development of human capital, and increase ROI of programs and initiatives.
Customize eLearning curricula base on role - individual contributor-, manager-, and senior manager-level courses.

Training manager example responsibilities.

Assist in running multi-unit stores as needed, while still achieving sales plan at home store :
Calculate and lead team in analyzing business metrics, allowing for focuse store visits with positive ROI.
Manage and process information for owner/user agencies to include DoD facilities that require compliance with the NISPOM.
Train sales associates on how to market new products with existing store inventory, and manage all POS transactions.
Manage elearning program development from concept through implementation.
Supervise all restaurant operations including service, quality, cleanliness, sanitation, training, scheduling, and inventory control.

Director, learning and development vs training manager skills

Common director, learning and development skills

Human Resources, 7%
Training Programs, 6%
Project Management, 6%
Instructional Design, 5%
Blended Learning, 4%
Learning Management System, 4%

Common training manager skills

Customer Service, 19%
Leadership, 8%
Brainstorming, 7%
Food Safety, 4%
Payroll, 4%
Cash Control, 3%

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Executive Management Industry
Director, Learning And Development
Director, Learning And Development vs Training Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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