ATD Research: TD Professionals Are Optimistic About Meeting Organizational Needs

ATD's 2026 State of the Industry report examined the 2025 talent development benchmarks and trends.

ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Although talent development professionals are optimistic about their ability to meet organizational needs and their department's impact on corporate performance, they are concerned about securing financial resources to support future learning initiatives, according to the 2026 State of the Industry report, sponsored by Chronus and Zensai.

Although the cost per learning hour decreased by more than $400 in 2025, the average number of learning hours per employee was 16.7, up from 13.7 in 2024. Organizations are using a variety of content delivery methods, including live, instructor-led traditional classroom, instructor-led virtual classroom, job aids, and coaching.

Some key findings in the Association for Talent Development research study include:

• The TD Executive Confidence Index was 63.1, a decrease of 4.1 points from 2024.
• The average number of TD staff across all organizations was 42 in 2025. Twenty-four percent of organizations increased their TD staff headcount in 2025.
• Thirty-nine percent of organizations have a TD, learning, or training department.

More than half of TD functions (55 percent) are represented in their organization's senior leadership team. This is a decrease from 2024, when 75 percent of organizations had TD representation on the senior executive group.

This annual report provides critical data points detailing direct expenditure, learning hours used, TD staffing numbers, cost per learning hour, content distribution, and delivery methods. The study surveyed 340 organizations from a diverse range of industries.

ATD is hosting two webinars on this report: one on June 11 at 2 p.m. ET and one on July 16 at 2 p.m. ET

About ATD

The Association for Talent Development (ATD) is the world's largest professional membership organization supporting those who develop the knowledge and skills of employees, improve performance, and help to achieve results for the organizations they serve. Established in 1943, the association was previously known as the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD).

ATD's members come from more than 100 countries and work in public and private organizations in every industry sector. ATD supports talent development professionals who gather locally in volunteer-led US chapters and international member networks, and with international strategic partners.

For more information, visit td.org

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SOURCE Association for Talent Development (ATD)