Training is the effort to increase the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) of employees and managers so that they can better do their jobs. Employees often begin new jobs with the expectation that they will receive sufficient training, but this is seldom the case, at least in terms of training in any formal sense. In traditional organizations, KSAs are often imparted by existing employees and managers who know the work and how to get it done; in learning organizations, this is even more likely to be the case.
Indeed, much KSA acquisition occurs in informal ways, but training continues to be important.

Whereas training focuses on improving performance in present jobs, development consists of efforts to improve future performance by providing skills to be used in subsequent assignments. Development increases staff potential, assists in succession planning, and is tied to strategic organizational development, ensuring that agencies have employees with relevant skills. The distinction between training and development is somewhat inexact because many developmental activities have immediate uses. To illustrate, leadership training for employees can be regarded as a developmental activity, but the skills learned are likely to also improve current employee teams as personnel gain new knowledge about and insights into group dynamics and processes.

In recent years, learning has been emphasized as a third category. While learning is inherent in training and development, the new focus on learning stems from the recognition that participating in training and development activities does not necessarily equate with actual learning, mastering, and application of KSAs that employees need. Learning organizations are organizations that have recognizable processes in place for the ongoing assessment of what they are doing and how they are doing it, and whether and how they might do better.

The use of training and development varies across organizations. At a minimum, organizations use training to ensure that existing staff are familiar with new technology, work procedures, and rules, as well as to assist in onboarding new workers. Beyond this, training and development is also associated with talent management and leadership development, ensuring that future leaders have required knowledge and a broad range of development experiences before they assume positions of responsibility. Training and development can also be part of strategic efforts to attract and retain talented workers and managers who are looking for career growth. T&D is also associated with high-performance organizations that frequently change and expect workers to acquire new skills.

Difficult economic times intensify these crosscurrents affecting training, learning, and development through tighter budgets, overworked staff, deferred technology investments, and staffing reductions. But the above fundamentals remain: Technology develops, jurisdictions must still increase their competitiveness, and employees still seek to improve their careers and salaries. Neither good times nor bad times make these things go away. Employees and managers who seek ways to increase their value to organizations will find training, learning, and development relevant to their efforts.