Aspects of training and development have been linked to ancient civilizations around the globe.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Alagaraja|first1=Meera|last2=Dooley|first2=Larry M.|date=March 2003|title=Origins and Historical Influences on Human Resource Development: A Global Perspective|url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1534484303251170|journal=Human Resource Development Review|language=en|volume=2|issue=1|pages=82–96|doi=10.1177/1534484303251170|s2cid=143353567 |issn=1534-4843}}</ref> Early training-related articles appeared in journals marketed to enslavers in the antebellum south<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Phillips|first=Lisa|date=2013-03-08|title=David R. Roediger and Esch Elizabeth. The Production of Difference. Race and the Management of Labor in US History. Oxford University Press, Oxford [etc.]2012. x, 286 pp. Ill. £22.50.|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0020859013000059|journal=International Review of Social History|volume=58|issue=1|pages=129–131|doi=10.1017/s0020859013000059|s2cid=144977591 |issn=0020-8590|doi-access=free}}</ref> and training approaches and philosophies were discussed extensively by Booker T. Washington.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Washington|first=Booker, T.|title=Up From Slavery}}</ref> Early academic was publishing related to training included a 1918 article in the Journal of Applied Psychology. This article explored an undergraduate curriculum designed for applied psychologists.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Bell|first1=Bradford S.|last2=Tannenbaum|first2=Scott I.|last3=Ford|first3=J. Kevin|last4=Noe|first4=Raymond A.|last5=Kraiger|first5=Kurt|date=2017|title=100 years of training and development research: What we know and where we should go.|journal=Journal of Applied Psychology|volume=102|issue=3|pages=305–323|doi=10.1037/apl0000142|pmid=28125262|issn=1939-1854|url=https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2306&context=articles|hdl=1813/74878|s2cid=26505012|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Training was also discussed in first handbook on adult education in 1934.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rowden|first=D|title=Handbook of adult education in the United States|publisher=American Association for Adult Education.|year=1934}}</ref> World War II influenced the focus of applied psychology research to be on effectiveness of training programs, particularly in military contexts. By the 1960s and 70s, the field began developing theories and conducting theory-based research because up until that point, the field had been rooted in trial-and-error intervention research.<ref name=":0" /> This era also brought along the development of new training methods such as the use of computers, television, case studies, and role playing.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Campbell|first=J P|date=January 1971|title=Personnel Training and Development|journal=[[Annual Review of Psychology]]|volume=22|issue=1|pages=565–602|doi=10.1146/annurev.ps.22.020171.003025|issn=0066-4308}}</ref> The scope of training and development also expanded to include [[Cross-cultural communication|cross-cultural]] training, focus on the development of the individual employee, and the use of new [[organization development]] literature to frame training programs.<ref name=":2" /> The 1980s marked a shift to focus on how employees were receiving and implementing training programs, and encouraged the collection of data for evaluation purposes, particularly management training programs.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Burke|first1=Michael J.|last2=Day|first2=Russell R.|date=1986|title=A cumulative study of the effectiveness of managerial training.|journal=Journal of Applied Psychology|volume=71|issue=2|pages=232–245|doi=10.1037/0021-9010.71.2.232|issn=0021-9010}}</ref> The development piece of training and development became increasingly popular in the 1980s and 90s, with employees more frequently being influenced by the concept of "[[lifelong learning]]".<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Birdi|first1=Kamal|last2=Allan|first2=Catriona|last3=Warr|first3=Peter|date=1997|title=Correlates and perceived outcomes of 4 types of employee development activity.|journal=Journal of Applied Psychology|volume=82|issue=6|pages=845–857|doi=10.1037/0021-9010.82.6.845|pmid=9638086|issn=0021-9010}}</ref> It was in this decade that research revealing the impact and importance of fostering a training and development-positive culture (including management and co-worker) was first conducted.<ref name=":3" /> The turn of the century brought more research in topics such as team-training, for example cross-training.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Marks|first1=Michelle A.|last2=Sabella|first2=Mark J.|last3=Burke|first3=C. Shawn|last4=Zaccaro|first4=Stephen J.|date=2002|title=The impact of cross-training on team effectiveness.|journal=Journal of Applied Psychology|volume=87|issue=1|pages=3–13|doi=10.1037/0021-9010.87.1.3|pmid=11916213|issn=0021-9010}}</ref> Cross-training emphasizes training in coworkers' responsibilities.<ref name=":4" />
Skills training has taken on varying organizational forms across industrialized economies.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Thelen |first=Kathleen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I0afDJGPczwC |title=How Institutions Evolve: The Political Economy of Skills in Germany, Britain, the United States, and Japan |date=2004 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-54674-4 |language=en}}</ref> Germany has an elaborate [[Vocational education|vocational training]] system whereas the United States and the United Kingdom have weak vocational training system.<ref name=":8" />
