March 2025 marks the 10-year anniversary of Training Industry’s Certified Professional in Training Management (CPTM™) certification program. First launched in 2015, the CPTM credential was designed to build — and verify — the foundational skills needed to manage the corporate training function. Today, over 2,000 learning and development (L&D) professionals across multiple countries and industries have earned their credential.

As we celebrate this milestone, let’s reflect on the program’s history and explore how CPTM is positioned to meet the future needs of both training managers and their organizations.

The Vision

Before CPTM, no established standards for training managers existed — terminology varied, and research on best practices was limited. “It was a very inconsistent time,” says Doug Harward, CPTM, Training Industry’s founder. Creating consistency and research-backed models for training management was a key part of the vision for CPTM, leading to a more structured and standardized approach to the profession. The certification was intended to remain applicable across all industries and experience levels. Another part of the vision was building a strong community of certified L&D professionals who could support one another throughout their careers. Training Industry saw CPTM not as a final destination but as a starting point: “CPTM was built with the idea that this is not the end of their journey,” Harward explains. “This is the first step of their journey in becoming a successful professional in our field, and that’s a really critical, philosophical, strategic point for us.”

Partnering With Pearson

Developing the CPTM program required a strong partner — one with the resources and expertise needed to create a comprehensive, research-backed and psychometrically valid certification.

The opportunity for collaboration arose when Sean Stowers, CPTM, founder, chief learning officer and CEO of WeLearn, who was working at Pearson at the time, connected with Harward. Their conversation sparked discussions about what it would take to roll out a certification program specifically designed for training managers. This aligned Pearson’s interest in expanding its presence in corporate L&D with Training Industry’s need for a dedicated partner to help bring the CPTM vision to life.

Stowers says, “We really saw [Training Industry] as the right partner, in the right place.” Harward agrees, “Pearson brought the perfect mix of an external perspective and expertise in the area of credentialing to complement our vision and body of knowledge.”

Shaping the CPTM Curriculum and Learner Experience

In partnership with Pearson, in 2012, the team began the program development process, considering how to best structure and deliver the program. Rather than rushing to launch, the team took time to refine and iterate. “We wanted to get it right,” Harward explains.

Harward recognized that “to be a certification program, and to be valued and recognized as a certification credential, you have to have a body of knowledge.” Fortunately, Training Industry had already been conducting research since 2008 on great training organizations, which provided a research-based foundation for the program.

Amy DuVernet, Ph.D., CPTM, vice president of learning products at Training Industry, notes that one of the key insights from the research was the critical role of the training manager: The research found that organizations with well-prepared training managers were more likely to be high performing, while those without strong training leadership tended to struggle in key areas. This finding, combined with the recognition that training professionals need training, themselves — and that few development opportunities existed specifically for training managers — highlighted a significant gap in the marketplace. Addressing this need was “part of the impetus for building the program,” DuVernet says.

The 8 Capabilities of Great Training Organizations

The research identified the following key process capabilities of great training organizations, which are core to the CPTM curriculum:

1. Strategic Alignment: The most important capability of great training organizations, strategic alignment refers to the ability to design learning programs that align with business objectives.
2. Content Development: The process of assessing, designing, managing and maintaining training content.
3. Delivery: Managing an instructor network and delivering training using multiple learning modalities.
4. Diagnostics: Identifying the causes of performance problems and making recommendations for solutions.
5. Reporting and Analysis: Defining business metrics and reporting on data to make improvements in training programs.
6. Technology Integration: Integrating learning technologies with each other and/or with other business applications.
7. Administrative Services: Managing scheduling, registration and other support functions to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.
8. Portfolio Management: Managing, rationalizing and maintaining large portfolios of courses.

While the above process capabilities stand the test of time, individual practices may shift due to technological change and advancements, Harward says. For instance, while technology integration remains a key process capability of great training organizations, the types of technologies a training manager might implement can and will change over time, particularly in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).  The CPTM certification reflects this balance by continuously updating its content to align with emerging trends and technologies while maintaining its core research-based principles.

This research also helped establish the core responsibilities that comprise the Training Manager Competency Model™ (Figure 1), which serves as a foundation for the program.

The core responsibilities outlined in the Training Manager Competency Model™ focus on the individual job responsibilities, skill sets and knowledge bases that training managers need to be effective in their roles, while the eight process capabilities represent the broader areas that high-performing training organizations must excel in. Essentially, strong individual competencies enable training managers to drive and sustain organizational capabilities.

The 3-Step Certification Process

Laura Smith Dunaief, CPTM, a Training Industry Courses instructor and the founder and chief learning officer at CareerCraft, says that the team felt “secure in the fact that the research was sound,” as it had been validated over many years. The challenge, she says, was distilling the vast amount of research and information into a digestible format.

The team ultimately structured the program into three key steps, a framework that remains largely unchanged today:

1. The Prework: The CPTM prework consists of 10 eLearning modules, which offer a deep dive into the eight process capabilities of great training organizations. Covering this information in the prework “helps to level set, creating a baseline knowledge and understanding of key concepts that L&D professionals have going into the practicum,” DuVernet says.
2. The Practicum: After completing the prework, learners participate in an instructor-led practicum with an expert instructor. Each practicum includes a keynote discussion with a “featured executive” who has earned their own CPTM credential. When the program was first launched, practicums were primarily delivered in person. Over the years, however, the format has evolved into a primarily virtual instructor-led (VILT) experience.
3. The Exam: The certification exam consists of 100 multiple choice questions designed to test learners’ knowledge of the core principles needed to effectively manage corporate training programs and their ability to apply best practices in various real-world scenarios specific to the training manager job role. Candidates must receive a 70% or higher to pass. To ensure relevance and uphold testing best practices, exam questions are regularly updated with modern examples and use cases.

One of the differences between CPTM and other certification programs is that it integrates exam preparation with the certification process, rather than allowing participants to take the exam without proper training, DuVernet explains. “I think the philosophy that we approached the CPTM program with was one of wanting to really empower and enable training managers, in addition to validating their skill set.” Therefore, it didn’t make sense to have candidates take the exam without first equipping them with a foundational knowledge of the competencies, DuVernet says. Furthermore, CPTM has no prerequisites. This ensures that every participant, regardless of background, gains the knowledge and skills needed to succeed — making the certification both accessible and impactful.

Once the initial version of the course was developed, in 2014, the team conducted a pilot with Pearson employees, who went through the full program and provided valuable feedback. “The pilot participants were L&D professionals who had experience working with training organizations in the corporate space, so they gave us some really terrific post-pilot feedback that we used to tweak some of the content and its presentation before we went to market,” Dunaief says.

Also in 2014, Harward and Ken Taylor, Training Industry’s CEO, published the book, “What Makes a Great Training Organization.” The book helped document the research findings and outlined best practices for adoption, reinforcing the importance of a structured approach to training management — insights that directly informed the CPTM program’s curriculum.

After making final adjustments post-pilot, the CPTM program officially launched in 2015, with the first in-person practicum held in Dallas, Texas.

A Focus on the Business of Learning

CPTM is focused on the business of learning — managing the training function like a business. This focus is a key reason why many professionals, like Melissa Cummings, CPTM, choose the program. In a Training Industry article, Cummings shares, “After reviewing several certification options, I settled on Training Industry’s Certified Professional in Training Management (CPTM™) certification. The program recognizes that a successful training manager must also be a successful business manager.”

CPTM’s focus on the business of learning ensures that graduates have the knowledge and skills needed to leverage training for business outcomes.

Building Connections Through the CPTM Community

CPTM was designed with a community in mind, and over the past 10 years, the alumni community has seen significant growth. This sense of community has helped strengthen CPTM’s presence in the industry and build lasting connections among learning professionals, seasoned and new, leading teams of one and teams of many.

CPTM alumni have played a crucial role in the program’s achievements over the years, helping to propel its recognition as an esteemed credential for training managers globally.

Successes over the years:

CPTM has seen numerous successes over the years, including:

• Surpassing 2,000 Alumni: Reaching over 2,000 CPTM alumni was a key milestone, DuVernet says, signaling the credential’s growing value and recognition. This achievement helped establish a global community of certified professionals, furthering the program’s impact and demand.
• Growing Recognition of the CPTM Credential: Businesses across industries continue to list CPTM as a preferred qualification in training-related job descriptions. This was always a key success metric for the program, Harward says. Stowers agrees, sharing that “seeing companies specifically ask for a CPTM, that to me is the type of recognition that we set out to gain 10 years ago, and it’s exciting to see that happening.”
• Supporting Team Development: Since the first private CPTM practicum was delivered to a corporate L&D team in 2016, Training Industry has partnered with organizations to certify their team members. Organizations in diverse industries (e.g., Six Flags, Target, General Motors, the IRS, Army Corps of Engineers, etc.) have recognized the benefits of team certification, helping their training teams develop a shared foundation so that they can strategically align their training function with organizational goals.
• Additional Events and Resources for CPTMs: Over the years, more resources and events have become available to CPTMs, including: virtual roundtables covering timely L&D topics, a private alumni LinkedIn group where CPTMs can share career tips, challenges and advice, an exclusive, curated eLearning catalog and access to a shared drive offering tools, models and resources.

There are also numerous individual success stories that highlight how the CPTM program has made a significant impact on training managers’ careers. For Wade Watson, CPTM, supply chain operations training and development specialist at SCA Health, earning the CPTM credential was a pivotal step in breaking into the training field. “I completed the CPTM program aspiring to break into the training world,” Watson says. “I don’t have the traditional educational background that most professionals do, but [I] have an extensive training background from my time in the military. I’m proud to say that only two months after obtaining my CPTM certification, I was offered and accepted a training position!”

For Clark Waggoner, CPTM, training solutions manager at Geotab Inc., CPTM offered valuable skills to navigate uncertainty. “I put my CPTM skills to the test in early 2024, when I assumed leadership of a team who had faced five years of management changes, leading to instability and uncertainty,” Waggoner shares. “Utilizing my CPTM knowledge, I was able to gain buy-in from stakeholders to reshape the future of the department, simplifying processes and aligning training initiatives with revenue goals, ensuring that each step supported broader company objectives.”

What’s Next

As CPTM continues to grow and gain recognition in the market, “It’s really important to us that we continue to nurture and engage with the alumni community,” DuVernet says. “They’re such amazing professionals, and we want to continue to meet their professional development needs.” Through new events and resource offerings, Training Industry is committed to supporting the CPTM community in the future.

CPTM’s evolution and growing recognition over the past decade underscore the crucial role of L&D in business success. As the field of corporate training continues to evolve, CPTMs are equipped with the knowledge and expertise needed to lead the change.

Download the brochure below to learn more about the CPTM program.