How to hire a skills trainer

Skills trainer hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring skills trainers in the United States:

The median cost to hire a skills trainer is $1,633.
It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
Small businesses spend $1,105 per skills trainer on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
There are a total of 12,400 skills trainers in the US, and there are currently 21,389 job openings in this field.
Peru, IN, has the highest demand for skills trainers, with 11 job openings.

How to hire a skills trainer, step by step

To hire a skills trainer, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire a skills trainer, you should follow these steps:

Here's a step-by-step skills trainer hiring guide:

Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
Step 3: Make a budget
Step 4: Write a skills trainer job description
Step 5: Post your job
Step 6: Interview candidates
Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new skills trainer
Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a skills trainer do?

Skills Trainers are responsible for creating and teaching courses that are specialized for employees of an organization. Their duties include conducting initial analysis through questionnaires, surveys, and focus groups, create program budgeting, design training courses, organize the class schedule, produce study materials, and implement trial run. They track key performance metrics, create progress reports, and continuously improve training methodologies to deliver better results. Skills Trainers also work with outside vendors in using instructional technology to facilitate teaching.

Learn more about the specifics of what a skills trainer does

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Identify your hiring needs

Before you post your skills trainer job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a skills trainer for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

Determine employee vs contractor status

Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

Hiring the perfect skills trainer also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

This list presents skills trainer salaries for various positions.

Type of Skills Trainer	Description	Hourly rate
Skills Trainer	Fitness trainers and instructors lead, instruct, and motivate individuals or groups in exercise activities, including cardiovascular exercises (exercises for the heart and blood circulation), strength training, and stretching. They work with people of all ages and skill levels.	$12-20
Group Exercise Instructor	A group exercise instructor is responsible for leading fitness training and programs for different class groups. Group exercise instructors develop correct conditioning techniques, as well as observing the proper form of the student from their movements and exercises... Show more	$10-25
Yoga Instructor	A yoga teacher or instructor is an individual who teaches yoga lessons and works at yoga studios, gyms, or fitness centers. Yoga teachers are wellness and fitness professionals who lead yoga classes... Show more	$15-30

Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:
- Money Management
- Adaptive
- Independent Living
- Behavior Management
- Incident Reports
- Community Integration
- Behavioral Health
- Mental Health
- Meal Preparation
- Social Work
- CPR
- Home Health
- Mental Illness
- Developmental Disabilities
Check all skills
Responsibilities:
- Ensure the facilities' mission are achieved by effectively supervising the mental health rehabilitative efforts of severely and chronically ill patients.
- Certify in CPR and CPI when working in educational settings as well as community base areas.
- Transport and aid the clients to independently utilize skills to increase adaptive functioning in the community.
- Assist individuals with traumatic brain injuries to learn ADL skills to be functionally independent in the community.
- Provide training and assistance in all areas of ADL skills to include budgeting, organization, travel training.
- Work with a team of therapists, teachers, and parents to master skills in the client's IEP.
More skills trainer duties

Make a budget

Including a salary range in the skills trainer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A skills trainer salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

For example, the average salary for a skills trainer in Georgia may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level skills trainer. Additionally, a skills trainer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

Average skills trainer salary

$15.76hourly

$32,779 yearly

Entry-level skills trainer salary

$25,000 yearly salary

Updated December 20, 2025

Average skills trainer salary by state

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	North Dakota	$33,857	$16
2	New Hampshire	$33,565	$16
3	Nevada	$33,229	$16
4	Oregon	$33,074	$16
5	Massachusetts	$33,029	$16
6	Hawaii	$32,565	$16
7	Texas	$30,443	$15
8	New Jersey	$30,069	$14
9	Arizona	$29,805	$14
10	Virginia	$28,672	$14
11	Utah	$28,652	$14
12	New York	$28,638	$14
13	Indiana	$26,337	$13
14	Illinois	$26,316	$13
15	Florida	$26,007	$13
16	New Mexico	$24,197	$12
17	Tennessee	$22,880	$11
18	Arkansas	$22,282	$11
19	Ohio	$18,585	$9

Average skills trainer salary by company

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
1	Four County	$43,272	$20.80
2	Shawmut Design and Construction	$41,083	$19.75
3	LifeWorks	$38,796	$18.65
4	Shawmut	$38,224	$18.38
5	LifeWorks NW	$37,559	$18.06
6	Catholic Charities of Oregon	$35,789	$17.21
7	Mental Health & Mental Retardation Treatment Ctr	$35,186	$16.92
8	Boys & Girls Aid	$35,005	$16.83
9	Catholic Charities Health and Human Services	$34,245	$16.46
10	PATH (People Acting To Help), Inc Community Mental Health	$34,192	$16.44	2
11	CODA	$33,667	$16.19	1
12	Cayuga Centers	$33,294	$16.01
13	Lacks Enterprises	$32,992	$15.86
14	Albertina Kerr	$32,331	$15.54
15	Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey	$32,124	$15.44
16	Hawaii Behavioral Health	$31,901	$15.34	2
17	UTMB HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS	$31,235	$15.02
18	Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare	$30,980	$14.89	4
19	The Arc of Opportunity in North Central Massachusetts	$30,843	$14.83
20	First Choice Medical Staffing	$30,785	$14.80

Writing a skills trainer job description
A skills trainer job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a skills trainer job description:
Skills trainer job description example
The Skills Trainer assists children and/or young adults with developmental disabilities (5 years old to 22 years old) in a 1:1 setting to participate in-home and community-based activities. The Skills Trainer's focus is to improve the young person's daily, independent, and community living skills.

The role is part-time (3 to 11 hours per week) and the pay is $25.00/hr.

This position is eligible for a $1,500.00 sign-on bonus.

In this role(s) you'll get to:
- Support independent activities of Daily Living (IADL). This may include chores, meal prep, cooking, laundry, use of phone or other electronic devices, etc.
- Assist the individual's participation in community based activities. This may include making a purchase at a store or participating in a group-based community setting like a swim or gym program.
We are looking for people who:
- Possess a High School Diploma/GED and at least 5 years of relevant experience OR a Bachelor's degree in Education or Psychology
- At least 2 years of relevant experience
- Prior experience with children and young people with developmental disabilities
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Valid Driver’s license
- Able to meet required competency level in Microsoft Office Software
The required pre-employment checks for this role are:
- Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check
- Public Driving Record check
- Fingerprinting
The interview process for this role includes:
- a brief phone screen with Talent Acquisition;
- a phone interview with the hiring manager;
- 1-2 team interviews; and
- a 2 hour experiential ride-along to see a day in the life.
KDC values a diverse workforce. We are committed to a culture of equality and inclusivity that fosters dialog, innovation, compassion, respect, and collaboration. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of race, ethnicity, age, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability status, neurodiversity, or any other protected characteristic outlined by federal, state, or local laws. Your uniqueness drives our excellence.

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Post your job
To find skills trainers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:
- Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
- Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any skills trainers they would recommend.
- Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level skills trainers with the right educational background.
- Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.
Post your job online:
- Post your skills trainer job on Zippia to find and recruit skills trainer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
- Use field-specific websites.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
Your first interview with skills trainer candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.
It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new skills trainer
Once you've selected the best skills trainer candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.
You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.
Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new skills trainer. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.
Go through the hiring process checklist
- Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
- Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
- Define job responsibilities and requirements
- Establish budget and timeline
- Determine hiring decision makers for the role
- Write job description
- Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
- Promote the job internally
- Process applications through applicant tracking system
- Review resumes and cover letters
- Shortlist candidates for screening
- Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
- Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
- Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
- Conduct background checks on top candidates
- Check references of top candidates
- Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
- Extend offer to top candidate(s)
- Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
- Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
- Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
- Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a skills trainer?

Hiring a skills trainer comes with both the one-time cost per hire and ongoing costs. The cost of recruiting skills trainers involves promoting the job and spending time conducting interviews. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider the cost of skills trainer recruiting as well the ongoing costs of maintaining the new employee.

You can expect to pay around $32,779 per year for a skills trainer, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for skills trainers in the US typically range between $12 and $20 an hour.

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Updated December 20, 2025

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How to hire a skills trainer