Blog Post

Employee Training Statistics: The Value of Good Training

Dr. Laetitia Samuel-Owusu
June 6, 2024
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Advocating for learning and development can feel like an uphill battle—but the pressure has never been higher. In a workplace defined by constant change, nearly half of learning and talent development professionals now report a full-blown skills crisis. According to a 2025 LinkedIn Report, 49% say executives worry employees lack the skills needed to execute business strategy. Yet even as concern grows at the top, many L&D leaders still struggle to secure consistent influence and attention. The result is a widening gap between what organizations know they need and how effectively they invest in building it.

Too many executives still treat employee education as a box to check—something that starts with onboarding and ends with compliance. But training is far more than that. When organizations invest in meaningful development, they see gains in engagement, performance, and retention.

If you’re struggling to make the case, employee training statistics can do the heavy lifting. Below, we’ve gathered some of the most compelling data from recent L&D studies to help you strengthen your next leadership presentation and make an argument executives can’t ignore.

Why Does Employee Training Matter?

Traditionally, companies have viewed employee training as a way to mitigate risk or minimize waste. Invest in security training, and employees learn to protect sensitive data and prevent breaches. Invest in onboarding, and new hires ramp faster on your products, tools, and culture.

But training does more than protect your business—it can propel it forward. Learning and development is a key driver of employee enablement, giving people the skills and confidence to excel, and it boosts employee engagement by helping employees feel supported and invested in. It also plays a major role in retention: LinkedIn reports that 88% of organizations are concerned about employee retention, and learning and development opportunities are respondents’ No. 1 retention strategy

Training can take many forms, from formal training to online self-paced courses through platforms like LinkedIn Learning.

Top Employee Training Statistics to Show ROI

Want to expand your training efforts, but need approval from senior leadership to make it happen? Here are some employee training statistics to help you make the case for education: 

Learning and Development Statistics

L&D experts, rejoice. As tough as it can be to get buy-in from the C-suite, there’s a groundswell of momentum behind your efforts. Demand for employee training programs and EdTech platforms is only increasing, which signals a promising future for employee education.

Here are some notable stats that support learning and development programs:

  • Companies that offer comprehensive training programs have 218% higher income per employee than companies without formalized training. (Association for Talent Development)
  • 74% of workers are willing to expend discretionary effort to acquire new skills through training to improve their workplace experience. (PwC)
  • 59% of employees say training improves their overall job performance. (SurveyMonkey)
  • 35% of companies say they currently lack access to the right training content to deliver effective L&D. (SHRM)
  • 53% of HR managers say their workforce faces a skills gap. (SHRM)
  • 51% of HR managers say employee training is their main way of closing the skills gap. (SHRM)
  • In 2025, 45% of L&D teams experienced budget increases. (Training Industry)

Workplace Training Statistics

Even as L&D budgets increase, most organizations have trouble determining exactly how, when, and where to invest that money. Compliance training only goes so far. To get real ROI out of an education program, companies must invest in programs where dedicated educators—not just HR—play an active role in talent development. 

The data speaks for itself:

  • U.S. companies invest $200 billion annually in corporate training, yet studies show that only 10% of that training drives tangible results. (HBR)
  • The most common type of employee training is compliance training. (SHRM)
  • The most common owner of employee education is HR. (Intellum)
  • HR is more than twice as likely to feel burned out compared to a dedicated education team. (Intellum)
  • 32% of workplace educators agree with the following statement: I feel like I am capable of making a greater impact, but I lack the resources I need to succeed (people, budget, time). (Intellum)

Employee Retention Statistics

Education doesn’t just help employees perform—it also gives them a reason to stay. Today’s talent values jobs in which they can learn new skills and accelerate their careers. And that starts with comprehensive training and self-service learning. 

Advocate for education and reduce employee turnover with these employee training statistics:

  • 8 in 10 people say learning provides them with a sense of purpose at work. (LinkedIn)
  • 7 in 10 people say learning improves their connection with their company. (LinkedIn)
  • 76% of employees say they are more likely to stay at a company that offers continuous training. (SHRM)
  • 56% of companies with formalized education initiatives report improved employee retention, compared to just 21% of companies with ad hoc education efforts. (Intellum)
  • Companies are twice as likely to report improved employee retention rates when they use an education platform designed for multiple audiences (62%) compared to a platform designed to educate just employees (30%). (Intellum)

Bottom Line Statistics

Employee training doesn’t have to be mystifying. At Intellum, we’ve explored the benefits of education and found tangible business results any executive can get behind.

Here are just some of the business benefits of employee training, as discovered by our research:

  • 43% of companies report increased revenue since implementing an education program.
  • 60% of companies with curriculum-based education initiatives report increased revenue since starting their program, compared to just 22% of companies with ad-hoc education efforts.
  • Among companies that experienced increased revenue, those that valued scalable learning were most likely to see increased revenue.
  • 27% of companies report reduced support costs since implementing an education program.
  • Companies whose education team an executive sponsor backs are twice as likely to exceed their business goals.

How Intellum Helped Allied Universal Build a High-Value Training Program

Allied Universal is the globe’s leading security provider. The seventh-largest private employer in the world, Allied supplies companies and their employees with best-in-class security. If you’ve ever walked a college campus, badged into an office building, or simply enjoyed the amenities of a town or city, you’ve likely interacted with an Allied professional as well.

With more than 800,000 employees, Allied Universal thrives on scale. To deliver effective education while managing training costs, the company needed a platform that could grow alongside its business, adapt quickly to changing needs, and provide detailed data tracking so educators could measure success.

Enter Intellum. In 2009, Allied implemented our learning management system as part of a broader training initiative called EDGE (Educate, Develop, Grow, Engage). Through a blend of eLearning education and face-to-face training, Allied has equipped its security professionals with the knowledge and best practices they need to provide unparalleled service.

Fast forward 14+ years, and our partnership with Allied Universal is still going strong.

What sustains the relationship? 

At Intellum, we’ve designed our platform to scale alongside our clients’ businesses. Whether you’re looking to create accessible eLearning content, deliver engaging webinars, or build a certification for your product, we’re committed to making your L&D efforts easier and more effective. Deliver timely, relevant training to your employees—no matter the current need—so you can keep them engaged, empower them to succeed, and drive results.

For Allied Universal, those results have ranged from reduced safety incidents to increased client and employee retention rates. The EDGE program is going strong, with more than 270,000 active users completing 580,000+ courses per month. The global leader in security only continues to innovate, and we’re proud to be a partner.

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It’s clear investing in employee development is worth the time and effort. If you’d like to dig deeper into ways to grow your employees through education and training, our blog is a great start.

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Dr. Laetitia Samuel-Owusu

Sr. Program Manager, Education
Tia is a program manager and learning experience designer who brings creativity, passion, innovation, and expertise to organizations looking to lead the way toward learning proficiency (including Intellum!). Tia has her Doctorate in Administration and Curriculum Development. She's also a social entrepreneur, engaging global social needs through community development, education, training, and strategic partnerships.