There are potential similarities between mentoring, coaching and training. Mentoring is delivered by someone with a relevant set of skills, experience and perspectives where the mentor is mostly interested in the person and the content of the conversations. The mentee is expected to be responsible for their own learning; however, there may be a shared sense of responsibility depending on the nature of the individual mentor. Coaching is delivered by someone with training in how to coach others, e.g. to use skills of listening, questioning and facilitation to assist people to think and act for themselves.

A coach focuses on the process of coaching conversations, in addition to the person and their situations. The coachee is encouraged to be responsible for their own learning, but the coach will normally be evaluated on their effectiveness. Training is delivered to individuals and groups by someone with the ability to deliver training and also with theory and knowledge of the topic on which they are delivering training. Effective trainers understand different approaches to encouraging learning and development and will be creative with those – for example, blending group work with individual exercises, or knowing how to maintain energy, engagement and interest.

Responsibility for the transfer of learning begins with the trainer, who is expected to design and deliver effective training. This responsibility later becomes shared with the learner as they are expected to engage with the training process. Organizations might use mentoring where their resources do not stretch to another solution.