News: Customer Service/Care
US training market worth more than £29bn
31 January 2008
The training market in the US is worth more than $58 billion (£29 billion), according to the 2008 Corporate Learning Factbook from research firm Bersin & Associates.
According to the study, the corporate learning market increased from $55.8 billion to $58.5 billion between 2006 and 2007, and the average spending per learner is $1,202. The largest spending sector is finance and insurance (a spend of $1,061 per learner), and the lowest is retail ($594).
In telecommunications, almost a quarter (23 per cent) of training dollars is spent on customer service training, while technology companies spend 29 per cent on sales training.
As well as this, the study indicates that management garners the largest fraction of the training budget.
"Corporations are investing heavily in current and up-and-coming leaders," said Bersin & Associates' Josh Bersin.
"We see an emphasis in this area across all sectors. Looming retirements, gaps in management talent, and economic pressures are causing companies to funnel dollars into their leadership pipelines."
