1. Introduction

   • Importance and Development of the Trainer Profession
   • Brief Overview of the Topic and Purpose of the Article
   • Role and Significance of Trainers in Adult Education
   • Definition of a Trainer (with a reference to the source)
   • Difference Between a Trainer and a Traditional Teacher
   • Career Path of a Trainer
   • Educational and Professional Background Required to Become a Trainer
   • Examples of Career Paths (with case studies)
   • How Much Does a Trainer Earn?
   • Statistics and Analysis of Trainers’ Earnings in Poland and Worldwide (with references to sources)
   • Factors Affecting Earnings (experience, specialization, location)
   • How Much Does an Hour of a Trainer’s Work Cost?
   • Analysis of Hourly Rates for Different Types of Training
   • Impact of Experience and Specialization on Hourly Rates
   • Qualifications and Certifications for Trainers
   • Overview of Popular Certificates and Courses (with links and references)
   • How to Obtain a Training Certificate?
   • Institutions and Organizations Issuing Certificates
   • Who Can Issue a Training Certificate?
   • Differences Between National and International Certificates
   • Key Skills and Qualities of a Good Trainer
   • Interpersonal and Presentation Skills
   • Importance of Empathy and Adaptability Skills
   • Summary

2. Introduction to Becoming a Trainer

   • The modern job market requires continuous adaptation and the development of new skills, emphasizing the importance and development of the trainer profession. Trainers play a key role in adult education, helping them keep up with the changing work environment. In various countries, this role is particularly important, for example, in the United States, where, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for trainers is growing faster than the average for all occupations. In Europe, net amounts between 1000-2400 Euros  are the salary range for trainers for training day. However, in the industry where a good trainer earns 1600-2000 Euros net per training day, the upper levels of remuneration remain a trade secret.

3. Role and Significance of Trainers in Adult Education

   • For comparison, in Germany, according to the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), trainers often focus on vocational training, which is an integral part of the country’s education system. In Japan, according to data from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, trainers play a key role in the professional development of workers, which is an important part of the work culture in this country.

4. Career Path of a Trainer

   • Most training careers are based on professional development in the field of training and in didactics and group work. While an expert in a specific field, such as marketing, can be a trainer, they need knowledge and teaching skills to transfer their expertise to participants and the group.
   • In addition to classic career paths such as training and facilitation courses, trainers’ schools, and trainers’ academies, there are innovative methods for professional development of trainers. For example, in the UK, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), mentoring programs for trainers are becoming increasingly popular, offering individual support and skill development – similar to the MASTERCLASS course offered by ITFF on the Trainers.org platform.
   • To become a trainer, appropriate education and professional experience are usually required. Initially, trainers are assessed in their field of expertise. For instance, a marketing trainer must convince participants that they can truly be an authority in their field and are worth coming to for knowledge and skills. Often, trainers start as experts in their field and then move into the roles of teachers, trainers, and mentors. Continuous education and acquiring new skills are important. On the Trainers.org platform, there is a level 1 training course that introduces the topic in a workshop manner.
   • A lot depends on the training topics you are ready to teach and in which you feel confident. Another factor is the ratio between soft skills training and hard skills training.

Models

1. • The most popular training models include:
     1. Trainers creating a solo training company after working in one field.
     2. Trainers working full-time in corporations or businesses as internal trainers.
     3. Coaches/advisors/psychologists supplementing their sales and marketing channels with training and creating training companies or educational services as an extension of their current scope.
     4. A small team creating a training company with the aim of larger operations together.
     5. Trainers creating a solo training company with openness and an assumption to present other trainers and sell their services to strengthen sales.

2. How Much Does a Trainer Earn?

   • Trainers’ salaries can vary significantly depending on factors such as location, specialization, experience, and the type and level of training. In Poland, average salaries range from 46-115 Euros (230-575 złoty) gross per hour of work, according to the List and Guidelines for Reference Costs. However, these are suggested compensation rates in B2G (business to government) for part of the orders. Both in B2G these rates can be higher, e.g., in the context of projects and taking into account the entire scope of work, and lower, e.g., in the context of employing a trainer full-time.
   • Rates in other sectors B2B, B2C, and full-time trainers’ rates depend primarily on the training topic and sector, target group, and customers. Becoming a trainer is one aspect; earning and acquiring assignments or getting a full-time position is a topic requiring detail and more elaboration. We will develop this topic in future articles.

3. How Much Does an Hour of a Trainer’s Work Cost

   • In Poland, 46-115 Euros (230-575 złoty) gross per hour is the reference rate for educational lectures in government orders, with B2B rates rising higher.
   • Rates in local government orders also depend on the budgeting unit and the topic. The range from 4 to 90 Euros (20-450 złoty) is a realistic range where low-funded training and workshops are paid. Yes, sometimes there is only 4-5 participants on open workshops, and costs of organization eats up the budget, leaving nothing to trainer.
   • The lowest rate I worked for was the City contract, and that was 1 Euro / hour(5 złoty), which I treated as pro bono work, workshops for children from difficult backgrounds, as the cost of round-trip public transportation exceeded the amount of compensation.
   • Hourly rates for a trainer on assignment from other training companies range from 30 to 90 Euros (150-450 złoty) per hour, noting that expert trainers with a good personal brand are able to negotiate better rates.
   • Trainers who are most persistent and consistent, however, cross the threshold of 500 Euros per hour, but this is due to the fact that while the training itself lasts 8 hours, the preparation process and discussions with the client are not included here.

4. Qualifications and Certificates for Trainers

   • Having appropriate qualifications and certificates is often key to success in this role. Popular certificates worth obtaining in a training context include:
     • Training Course, School of Trainers – as the main scope.
     • Facilitation, Moderation, etc., courses – as a complement to competencies and services.
     • Educational training, e-learning, instructional design, including specific software management, e.g., Adobe Articulate and equivalent, Canva – depending on the specifics of training, great substantive choices.
     • Interpersonal training (no certificate is needed, but you may be asked if you have participated in training) – recommended for anyone working with groups.
     • Training in building a brand, sales, online marketing.
     • Workshops in public speaking and voice projection.

5. How to Become a Trainer – The Moment When You Also Issue Certificates

   • Certificates can be issued by various institutions, both national and international. Once you register a business and create a training company, you can issue certificates and attestations as an entrepreneur. From a market perspective, it is a good practice to be registered in the Training Institutions Register (RIS). Regardless, what’s important in terms of certification and attestations is the brand of the company and organization, human resources, length of operation, and clients you train.
   • This is because the training market is open and there is a wide variety of topics, so with so many training topics, and we are talking about the entire market of business and personal competencies, organizations and companies that train more and longer naturally build an advantage over others.
   • Unfortunately, this does not apply to mass certificates. Issued for low amounts of a few Euros (dozens of złoty) i.e., as a fee for writing a test. The market, i.e., consumer behavior, regulates this over time and shows whether there are fewer such companies.The longer I work with groups, the more I see that for the market, the training programs and profiles of the trainers are equally important, and certificates are more a confirmation that you have participated in training or a course. From the perspective of certificates and attestations, it is important to maintain moderation and not fall into extremes.
   • It’s important who ultimately reviews and reads the information about the certificate. When we use certificates and attestations in communication with HR departments, clients, potential clients, be proud of them. Also, choose brands that are credible to us and others. Likewise, shape your certification strategy.

6. Key Skills and Traits of a Good Trainer

In addition to substantive knowledge, a trainer should possess interpersonal and business skills, such as the ability to present, empathy, listening skills, and the ability to sell training, essential for daily work.

However, if I were to point out two specific talents of good trainers, they would be:

Efficiency. Participants and clients want to move from point A to point B. A good trainer consistently takes clients to point B, critically evaluating themselves to avoid being self-enamored. Sales. A good trainer, upon successfully selling their training for the first time, can identify a pattern. They seek and analyze scaling and sales to ensure they are repeated in the future.

Challenges and Development Opportunities in the Training Profession

This profession can present many challenges, such as the need for continuous knowledge updating, adapting to changing technologies and market needs, as well as dealing with stress and pressure.

Jokingly, it can be said that the training market has already experienced the coronavirus, familiar with extremes. COVID-19 was an example of coping with stress and external pressure factors.

Market size

The greatest opportunity, however, is the size of the region and country we live in. There are possibilities. The situation would be more problematic if we lived in a country the size of Estonia.

Fortunately, entering the market, even for testing, does not require equipment like an excavator. Relatively high earnings cover the costs of courses, a computer, a folder with markers and post-its, and a good printer.

Often, some people wanted to be trainers in 2021. But they will finally enter the market, for example, in 2024 when the “right moment” comes. Like a large order exceeding 20,000 euro / usd.

Therefore, an additional three years of work in the training domain matter.

If you want to listen to trainers discussing various aspects of their work, visit the YouTube channel. You will find conversations with different trainers there.

Meanwhile, if you want to know about the team leading facilitation and training courses at the ITFF Trainers Academy -> go HERE.

If you have your thoughts and want to share them, let us know in the comments or write to me. Author: Mateusz Stasiak, trainer, CEO at ITFF.
Feel free to connect via Linkedin.

Summary

Writing about the training market is like answering the question, “What does art in theater look like?” Initially, it’s dark. Then it gets really interesting, with time for networking during intermissions. The choice of author, director, and actors influences our experience. Same in the training world. Details matter.

Trainer in Salary Reports

Remember to distinguish between the position of Training Specialist and Trainers in reports. These positions often involve responsibility for technical issues, including organizing and preparing training, conference rooms, catering purchases, communication with participants, and printing materials. When preparing this article, I found information in one of the leading salary aggregators that trainers earn from 3000 to 9000 gross. I had to stop and realize that it was not about trainers but training specialists.

At one point in my career, when I was conducting training projects on the most topics, I commissioned training to over 80 trainers across Poland – achieving a rate of 1000.00 net per day was a challenge, hence rates around 6000 gross, 4000 net for 22 days of work would translate to a few hundred złoty per training day and are very rarely encountered in practice. The market is large and complex, so probably in auxiliary topics, such as workshops for children at risk of social exclusion. They may be encountered there, as Social Assistance Centers are underfunded. Finally, there is a correlation between the sector and the industry with the trainer’s salary height.