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Trainer

Kaiwhakangungu/​Kaiwhakaako

Trainers plan and provide practical training courses for employees of businesses, government and other organisations. They teach a subject area they have experience and expertise in.

Pay

Trainers usually earn

$50K-$90K per year

Source: New Zealand Association for Training and Development, 2016.

Job opportunities

Chances of getting a job as a trainer are average, but good for those who can develop and deliver training online.

Pay

Trainers can earn between about $50,000 and $90,000 a year, depending on experience and qualifications. A few trainers who work in specialised roles might earn up to $120,000 a year.

Source: New Zealand Association for Training and Development, 2016. 

(This information is a guide only. Find out more about the sources of our pay information)

What you will do

Trainers may do some or all of the following:

  • design individual training programmes for organisations
  • run classes, workshops and seminars on a variety of topics
  • develop course materials
  • evaluate trainees and report on training sessions
  • write and update training manuals or online course materials
  • evaluate courses and qualifications offered by providers
  • attend meetings and complete business development work, if self-employed.

Skills and knowledge

Trainers need to have:

  • knowledge of the subject area they are teaching, such as public speaking, and how to plan training sessions
  • teaching skills, and the ability to teach a group of people at different stages of learning
  • the ability to operate technical equipment that may be used during training sessions
  • skill in analysing, designing and developing online learning modules
  • knowledge of multimedia such as how to use video effectively in online learning material.  

Working conditions

Trainers:

  • usually work regular office hours, but may also do evening and weekend work. Self-employed trainers often work flexible hours, depending on the needs of their clients
  • may work in different locations, including offices, workshops and classrooms
  • self-employed trainers may travel around New Zealand and overseas to run training workshops and courses.

What's the job really like?

Jade Boixo

Jade Boixo

Trainer

Jade Boixo works for a bank and trains people across a range of areas, including leadership, customer service and using the bank's new products.

The best – and worst – part of the job

"The bit I'm passionate about is being able to really recognise someone's potential and help develop them, whatever subject they're learning about. When you see someone understand a difficult concept it can be a very powerful moment."

Jade's least favourite part of the job is the administration side. "When you have to come in an hour early and print up 18 copies of a workbook and bind them all. It's the part that no one sees, and to me that's pretty mundane."

Best advice received

"Don't ever stop reading about training, and the research into how people learn, and how to get the most out of people. Keep feeding your brain that stuff!"

Jade's tips on becoming a trainer
  • Talk to people doing the job so you can decide if it's the job for you.
  • Shadow someone in the job. You may hate some of what you see behind the scenes.

Entry requirements

There are no specific entry requirements to become a trainer but you need to have experience in a particular field before you can train others. Examples of such fields include:

  • management
  • accounting
  • human resources
  • trade skills
  • business writing
  • computer administration and programming
  • website design.

A qualification in a subject that helps with communicating information to people is particularly useful for trainers. Useful subject areas include:

  • instructional design (designing online learning modules) 
  • adult education
  • teaching
  • business communications or management
  • human resources.

Secondary education

A tertiary entrance qualification, such as NCEA Level 3, is required to enter tertiary training.

Personal requirements

Trainers need to be:

  • skilful at communication, including listening and writing 
  • passionate about learning and technology 
  • good at time management
  • good at networking
  • friendly and patient
  • confident and positive
  • resourceful and creative
  • adaptable
  • able to relate to people from a range of cultures.

I think you need to be patient, and able to build a good one-to-one rapport with people. If you are always open and available, have time for people, and make sure you don't judge people, you can gain the trust of others and be a better trainer.

Photo: Jade Boixo - Trainer

Jade Boixo - Trainer

Useful experience

Useful experience for trainers includes:

  • teaching
  • coaching
  • developing and writing training packages  
  • managing staff
  • public speaking.

Find out more about training

New Zealand Association for Training and Development (NZATD)
(04) 570 2460 - nzatd@nzatd.org.nz - www.nzatd.org.nz
Check out related courses

What are the chances of getting a job?

Demand for trainers with face-to-face training and facilitation skills in the public and private sectors is average. Restructuring in the public sector has created some demand for contract trainers.

In the private sector, more training providers are offering NZQA-accredited courses, and need trainers with appropriate subject knowledge and qualifications to teach the courses.

According to the Census, 2,208 trainers worked in New Zealand in 2018.

Opportunities increase with skills to teach online

Demand is growing for online trainers due to the popularity of online learning. People can access training course information at any time online, and it is a flexible way for businesses to deliver staff training.  

There are still opportunities for trainers with face-to-face facilitation skills, but trainers with instructional design skills who can design and develop online learning modules are in demand.

You can improve your job chances with a qualification in instructional design and the ability to design and facilitate online learning, including for adult students.

Types of employers varied

Trainers may work for:

  • businesses, organisations and government as in-house trainers, for example, working in information technology (IT) or human resources
  • training consultancies, which offer general or specialist training services on topics such as sales and management
  • universities and polytechnics
  • industry training organisations, doing work such as on-site agriculture training.

Sources

  • Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, '2006-2014 Occupation Data' (prepared for Careers New Zealand), 2015.
  • Oldham, B, managing director, Complete Learning Solutions, Careers New Zealand interview, February 2016.
  • Stats NZ, '2018 Census Data', 2019. 

(This information is a guide only. Find out more about the sources of our job opportunities information)

Progression and specialisations

Trainers may move into work in one of the following areas:

  • human resources
  • tutoring or teaching
  • project management.

Trainers may also progress to set up their own business.

Jade Boixo sitting with three people at a desk, looking at course papers

Trainers run workshops and seminars on a variety of topics

Last updated 18 September 2020