Learning and Development Manager
Learning and development managers work out where a workforce's skills fall short and build the training that closes the gap.
- Median salary*
- $84,200
4.2%vs last year, before tax
- People employed*
- 8,400
1.2%vs last year
- Projected growth*
- +8%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours*
- 37.5/wk
−2.5h vs all jobs
- Shortage status*
- Not in shortage
national
Learning and development managers usually sit inside a broader people and culture or HR team, reporting to an HR director or general manager, and they carry a training budget rather than deliver the sessions themselves. The role differs from a trainer or facilitator, who runs the sessions this role designs and commissions, and from an HR generalist, whose brief covers far more than capability building. Most work in professional services, financial services, government or large manufacturers, where structured training supports compliance obligations and career progression.
How much do learning and development managers earn?
The median full-time salary for a learning and development manager is $84,200 per annum, before tax, up $17,700 since 2018.
Pay moves with the sector and size of the employer: banks, insurers and government departments pay more than small not-for-profits, and public sector roles step up through classification levels. A manager who oversees a team and a substantial training budget earns more than one who designs and delivers programs alone, and contract or project roles often trade leave entitlements for a higher rate.
What does a learning and development manager do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Analysing skills gaps with team leaders and HR data to work out what training is actually needed
- Designing programs and commissioning content, whether it is built in house with an authoring tool or bought from an external provider
- Running the learning management system day to day, from enrolments and completion reporting to chasing the mandatory compliance modules
- Managing a training budget alongside the vendors who deliver part of the program
- Reporting to executives on what the training cost and what changed, which is harder to prove than it is to deliver
What skills do learning and development managers need?
Employers look for project management, data analysis, budgeting and forecasting, backed by Learning Management Systems (LMS) fluency and strong stakeholder management.
Specialist skills
- Project management
- Data analysis
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Strategy development
Software and tools
- Learning Management Systems (LMS)
- Articulate Storyline
- Microsoft Teams
- Survey and evaluation tools
- Training ROI measurement software
General skills
- Stakeholder management
- Written communication
- Problem solving
Is the job growing?
About 8,400 people work as learning and development managers in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 8% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become a learning and development manager?
Here's the path most learning and development managers take, step by step.
- 1Start with a degree in a relevant field
Human resources, business, psychology, education and communications all lead here. The most common qualification in the role is a Bachelor degree, held by 52% of the current workforce, though that describes the people already doing the job rather than a formal entry requirement.
- 2Build hands-on experience in training
Working as a trainer, learning coordinator or instructional designer teaches you what actually lands with an audience, and it is the experience most manager candidates are hired for. Expect two or three years before you are competitive for a management title.
- 3Add a qualification in adult learning
A Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40122) or a graduate certificate in organisational learning covers instructional design, assessment and evaluation. It is the credential employers look for when a role involves compliance training or nationally recognised programs.
- 4Learn the budget and evaluation side
Start owning a program budget and reporting on what changed as a result, even in a small way. Being able to explain the cost of a program against its outcome is what separates a senior specialist from a manager.
- 5Step up into the manager title
Most people move up internally when the current manager leaves or the team grows. Employers look for evidence you have managed a budget, a vendor and a group of stakeholders, not just designed good programs.
Ready to apply as a learning and development manager?
Whether you're working toward becoming a learning and development manager or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a learning and development manager move to?
Moving into Human Resources Manager typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $59,700 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human Resources Manager The learning and development manager brings training strategy and capability expertise to the broader human resources manager role, which requires wider generalist human resources knowledge. | +$59,700 | 30% | reskill |
| Organisational Development Consultant The learning and development manager brings needs analysis and program design skills to organisational development consulting, which applies similar methods to broader workforce change. | +$42,900 | 63% | minimal |
| Program Manager The learning and development manager brings training program management and stakeholder coordination to the program manager role, which oversees larger, cross-functional initiatives. | +$27,600 | 67% | minimal |
| Workforce Planner The learning and development manager brings skills gap analysis and workforce capability planning to the workforce planner role, which focuses on future staffing needs. | +$12,000 | 83% | minimal |
| HR Business Partner The learning and development manager brings capability development and needs analysis to the human resources business partner role, which requires broader human resources generalist focus. | +$12,000 | 47% | short course |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a learning and development manager?
The typical learning and development manager is 42 years old; 72% are women, 88% work full-time, and full-timers average 37.5 hours a week.
- 42
- Median age
- 72%
- Female share
- 88%
- Full-time
- −2.5h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a learning and development manager?
The work runs in cycles: a needs analysis, a design phase, a rollout, then the reporting that follows. Much of a manager's week goes on meetings with team leaders and vendors rather than on the training itself, which surprises people who came from a facilitation background. It suits someone who enjoys solving organisational problems and can stay patient through a long approval chain.
What people like
- You see capability change. A team that struggled with a new system in March is competent with it by September, and you can point to the program that got them there.
- Every program starts with a different problem. One project is about safety compliance, the next is about lifting the skills of first-time managers, so the design work rarely repeats.
- You get a view across the whole organisation. Needs analysis takes you into teams and business units you would otherwise never deal with, and that breadth is useful if you later move into HR or workforce planning.
- Strategy and hands-on design sit in the same job. You can spend the morning in a budget meeting with the executive team and the afternoon reviewing a draft module.
What people find hard
- Proving training worked is genuinely hard. Completion rates and satisfaction scores are easy to collect but say little about whether behaviour changed, so you often argue your case with imperfect evidence.
- Compliance modules eat the calendar. Mandatory refreshers for every employee have to be scheduled, tracked and chased, and they crowd out the development programs you would rather be building.
- Your programs depend on other people. Line managers decide whether staff are released for a session, and vendors deliver part of the content, so a good plan can still fall over outside your control.
- Discretionary programs are an easy budget line to trim. When a business tightens spending, training that is not legally required is often the first thing cut, which can leave you defending work you believe in.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ learning and development managers?
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services employs the largest share of learning and development managers, followed by Financial and Insurance Services.
Top employing industries
- 1Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
- 2Financial and Insurance Services
- 3Public Administration and Safety
- 4Education and Training
- 5Manufacturing
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 52% | |
|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate | 26% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 13% | |
| Other | 9% |
Will AI replace learning and development managers?
AI reaches the production end of this job more than the judgement end. Drafting course content, writing quiz items, translating material and summarising survey feedback are all faster with AI tools, and authoring platforms now turn a brief into a first-draft module. Deciding what capability an organisation needs, getting it funded and reading whether behaviour changed stay with the manager.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Advising leaders and facilitating workshopsReading a room during a leadership session, or pushing back on a manager who wants training for what is really a resourcing problem, depends on presence and judgement.30%low
- Designing and commissioning learning contentAuthoring tools generate scenarios, quiz items and translations from a brief, so more of the manager's time goes on reviewing and editing than on writing from scratch.25%high
- Running the learning management systemEnrolments, completion reminders and compliance reporting are already automated, and chatbots now field the common 'where is my module?' queries.25%high
- Analysing skills gapsAI can summarise performance data and survey results in minutes, but the conversation with a team leader about what is really missing still shapes the conclusion.20%moderate
Common questions about becoming a learning and development manager
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do learning and development managers earn?
$84,200 per annum, before tax, is the median for full-time learning and development managers. It is a median across all employers rather than a starting rate, so what you are offered depends on the sector, the size of the organisation and whether the role carries a team.
How do you become a learning and development manager?
Most come through a degree in HR, business, psychology or education, then several years designing or delivering training before they take on a management title. The step up usually happens inside an organisation where you can show you have handled a budget, a vendor and a stakeholder group.
Are learning and development managers in demand?
Learning and development managers are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 8% over the decade to 2035. The roles cluster in professional services, financial services, government and large manufacturers, because those employers run structured training functions with dedicated budgets.
Will AI replace learning and development managers?
AI is changing the work rather than replacing it: authoring tools now draft modules, quiz questions and translations from a brief, and chatbots handle the routine learner queries. What stays with the manager is deciding what capability the organisation needs, persuading leaders to fund it and judging whether anything actually changed.
What can learning and development managers move into?
Workforce planning is a close move, because the skills gap analysis is the same work pointed at future staffing needs, and it pays $12,000 more. Organisational development consulting pays $42,900 more and applies similar needs analysis to broader workforce change, while a move into generalist HR management pays $59,700 more but needs wider human resources knowledge than this role provides.
Do you need a teaching qualification?
No. A degree plus experience in training design or delivery is the usual route, and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40122) is the one qualification that appears often because it is required for nationally recognised training. School teaching experience helps in education and public sector roles, but it is not an entry requirement.
Related roles
- Human Resources Manager
- Organisational Development Consultant
- Program Manager
- Workforce Planner
- HR Business Partner
- Learning and Development Specialist
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