Page Updated on January 19, 2023
Looking for work or a job as a freelance trainer? Leaving a teaching job to be a corporate trainer? Below we look at the best places to find work as a freelance or corporate trainer.
What is a Freelance Trainer?
A freelance trainer normally refers to a person who offers corporate workshops or training, or who creates their own workshops and classes for adult learners.
This is NOT a trainer in the sense of a personal trainer such as in a gym or sports center, but rather someone who teaches subjects such as soft skills, equality and inclusion training, interpersonal, and business management skills.
Qualities of a Freelance Corporate Trainer
A freelance trainer will generally need the following skills:
- Teaching skills – confidence and ability to teach and an understanding of teaching methods (You can do our Train the Trainer Course Online that is run by Dr Valeria Lo Iacono Symonds).
- Good organization – given that there will be numerous things to consider such as planning the learning environment, preparing the training materials (or you can buy and download them of course)
- Motivation – Being self-employed is not easy! You will need to be self-motivated.
- Personable – If you want to win extra clients and repeat business, you will need to be personable.
TIP: In workshops ensure that you hand out a feedback sheet at the end of the lesson. Use this feedback to then improve how you provide training and also use this as proof to clients of the high-feedback rates that you will begin to get as your perfect how you provide training!
What Rates Can a Freelance Trainer Expect?
The rates vary so greatly that it is genuinely very difficult to answer this very commonly asked question. Let me give you some pointers though:
- It depends on the exact subject you are teaching so income as a trainer can vary drastically.
- It also depends on if you are working completely freelance (you can charge per day) or if you will work as a trainer, as an employee of a company.
- Assuming you will work as a freelance trainer, if you organize your own workshops, then after renting a room or venue, and after buying the training materials, the profits are yours. So, if you charge $295 (or £295) for a 2-day workshop and have 20 attendees, you can quite easily make $2000 (or £2000) a day.
- You will need to consider though marketing costs as a freelancer.
Where to Find Freelance Trainer Jobs
1. LinkedIn (Worldwide)
LinkedIn might be a social media site that is excellent for business networking, but it is also a fantastic place for finding freelance and corporate trainer work.
Try these two links to find relevant job opportunities:
2. Indeed (Worldwide)
There are two key jobs pages and terms on Indeed.co.uk that you will want to use to find training jobs. These are:
Indeed is one of the best sites if you are UK-based.
You can sign up for their ‘Jobs by Email’ but DO make sure that you further refine your search before setting this up, to make sure that you get good and relevant emails.
3. Total Jobs (Worldwide)
Another of the best job search sites is Totaljobs.com, which has localized listings for countries including the UK, USA, Australia and Canada, and many others.
- Trainers jobs (for freelance roles)
- Or view the search for corporate trainers’ roles here.
Similar to if you use Indeed.com, I recommend using email notifications but ensure that you really refine the requirements.
If you cannot do a job more than 25 miles or KM away from where you live, make sure to set this in the filters for the jobs you do want.
4. Reed (UK Only)
Reed.co.uk is an excellent source for finding training jobs and is the site I used myself in the past.
I often found the best freelance trainer and corporate trainer jobs listed on Reed.
Certainly, a site I would recommend uploading your CV (resume) to, but do make sure that you keep it up-to-date (something I used to forget to do). An out-of-date CV means you’ll get postings about unrelated job opportunities and this is poor time management in terms of your daily tasks.
On the Reed site, these are the pages to navigate to:
5. Zip Recruiter (USA)
If you are U.S.-based or looking for work in the U.S. then Ziprecruiter.com is one of the best sites for finding trainer-related work opportunities.
- Zip has a dedicated corporate trainer job page here.
6. Naukri (India)
One of the leading job sites in India and also a great resource for those of you looking for a corporate trainers job in India is Naukri.com.
There always tend to be numerous positions listed for Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Gurgaon.
You can find their listings here:
7. Seek (Australia, NZ, China, and Brazil)
Seek is a job search site that is particularly strong in the Oceanic and Asian markets, particularly in Australia and New Zealand.
You can use these resources for the Australasia region:
8. Workopolis (Canada)
For opportunities in Canada, Workopolis is another interesting option for finding a trainer’s job vacancy.
Workpolis lists work opportunities that are available to both English and French speakers. See:
9. Trainers Talk (UK)
One option, although they do not list job opportunities and they charge a subscription (so this is maybe not your best or first option), is Trainer’s Talk.
Run by Sharon Gaskin, a UK trainer with several years of experience, for a fee (your membership) she connects employers in the UK with trainers.
10. Glassdoor (Worldwide)
One more great option if you are looking for a freelance trainer job in the United Kingdom, USA, and other locations worldwide.
Glassdoor is not as big as the likes of Indeed.com and Totaljobs but this site is certainly worth registering with.
11. Career Builder (Mostly USA but International)
Career Builder is a significantly sized player for jobs and employment opportunities in the U.S. market. They also detail jobs further afield for freelance trainers.
12. Get Added to Trainers’ Corner to raise Awareness of Your Training Services
We would be very happy if you wished to do an email interview and get added to Trainers’ Corner.
You can include a bio and links to your site and social media and this will help you to get yourself out there, online and in front of companies who look for training.
Dr Paul Symonds
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This is such a great resource for freelancers and people looking to bring in a little extra money.
Not only can you make a little extra money Whitney, but you can make a very good self-employed business and career from being a freelance trainer!