Volunteers Training Volunteers: How the Train the Trainer Model Strengthens Volunteer Management and Leadership Development
By Nonprofit Learning Lab
Training volunteers takes time, especially for organizations that regularly recruit and onboard new people. A Train the Trainer model can help organizations expand their training capacity by preparing experienced volunteers to train other volunteers.
Train the Trainer is a training approach in which experienced volunteers or staff members are prepared to teach, facilitate, and support the learning of others. Instead of relying on one staff member to deliver every volunteer training, an organization develops volunteer trainers who can share knowledge, skills, and organizational practices with new volunteers.
For organizations with ongoing volunteer recruitment and training needs, the Train the Trainer model connects volunteer management, curriculum design, adult learning, volunteer training, and volunteer leadership development. It can distribute responsibility for training while creating meaningful leadership opportunities for experienced volunteers.
What Is the Train the Trainer Model?
The Train the Trainer model prepares selected individuals to become trainers who can teach a specific topic, process, skill, or curriculum to others.
In a nonprofit volunteer program, the process might look like this:
Experienced Volunteer → Train the Trainer → Volunteer Trainer → New Volunteers
The volunteer trainer learns both what to teach and how to teach it.
Being an experienced volunteer does not automatically make someone an effective trainer. Volunteer trainers also need skills in facilitation, communication, adult learning, curriculum delivery, practice, feedback, and evaluation.
A strong Train the Trainer program model prepares volunteers to do more than present information. It helps them create learning experiences that allow other volunteers to understand, practice, and apply what they have learned.
Why Use a Train the Trainer Model in Managing Volunteers?
The Train the Trainer model can be useful for organizations with ongoing volunteer recruitment, onboarding, and training needs.
Rather than relying entirely on employees to deliver every training session, organizations can teach and prepare experienced volunteers to take on training and facilitation roles as part of their volunteer leadership strategy.
This can help organizations:
Expand volunteer training capacity
Reduce reliance on a single trainer
Create leadership opportunities for experienced volunteers
Provide more consistent volunteer training
Preserve organizational knowledge
Support volunteer recruitment and onboarding
Build a culture of peer learning
Give experienced volunteers additional ways to contribute
The model works best when volunteer trainers receive clear curriculum, preparation, practice, feedback, and ongoing support.
Train the Trainer, Adult Learning, and Andragogy
A successful Train the Trainer program should be designed around how adults learn. This is where adult learning and andragogy become important to volunteer management and volunteer training.
Andragogy is an approach to adult learning associated with Malcolm Knowles that focuses on the experiences, needs, motivation, and practical application of adult learners. Knowles' work emphasizes that adults bring prior knowledge and experience to training and are more likely to engage when learning is relevant, problem-centered, and immediately useful (Knowles et al., 2015).
For volunteer training, this means a Train the Trainer curriculum should do more than provide information. Volunteer trainers should create opportunities for participants to connect new information to their experiences, solve realistic problems, practice skills, ask questions, and apply what they have learned.
What Does Adult Learning Look Like in Volunteer Training?
Explain why the training matters
Instead of simply explaining a volunteer policy, the trainer explains why the policy exists and how it protects volunteers and participants.
Connect learning to experience
Ask experienced volunteers, “Have you encountered a situation like this before? What did you do?” The trainer can then connect their experiences to the training content.
Make learning relevant
If volunteers will be working with families, use examples and scenarios involving real situations they are likely to encounter with families or in their role as a volunteer
Focus on problems and real situations
Instead of telling volunteers how to respond to a difficult conversation, give them a scenario and ask, “What would you say?”
Give adults opportunities to participate
Rather than having the trainer talk for 30 minutes, have volunteers discuss a scenario with a partner and share their ideas with the group.
Provide opportunities for practice and application.
If volunteers need to learn how to use a database, don't just demonstrate it. Have volunteers log in, enter a sample record, and practice completing the process themselves.
In practice, adult learning and andragogy can help volunteer trainers move from:
Tell → Discuss → Practice → Apply → Reflect
Curating a training for adults in this way helps make the learners more prepared for their role and moves beyond just presentation.
Six Adult Learning Principles for Volunteer Training
Volunteers are adult learners who bring different experiences, skills, expectations, and reasons for participating. Effective volunteer training builds on what they already know and gives them opportunities to connect new information to the work they will actually do. These principles can help organizations design training that is practical, relevant, and engaging.
1. Connect learning to experience
Adults bring knowledge and experience to the learning process. Invite volunteers to connect new information to their previous work, life, and volunteer experiences. Ask questions such as, “Have you encountered a situation like this before?” or “What have you found works well in this type of situation?” (Knowles et al., 2015).
2. Explain why the information matters
Adults are more likely to engage when they understand the purpose of the training and how it connects to their role and responsibilities. Explain why the information matters, how volunteers will use it, and what difference it can make in their work (Knowles et al., 2015).
3. Make learning practical
Use demonstrations, activities, practice, and examples that reflect what volunteers will actually do in their roles. Whenever possible, move beyond explaining information and give volunteers an opportunity to practice using it (Knowles et al., 2015).
4. Focus on real problems
Give volunteers realistic situations to analyze, discuss, and solve rather than relying primarily on information presentation. Scenarios and case examples can help volunteers think through the decisions and challenges they may encounter in their roles (Knowles et al., 2015).
5. Encourage participation
Create opportunities for volunteers to ask questions, share experiences, discuss situations, and contribute to the learning process. Participation can help volunteers connect new information to what they already know while learning from the experiences of others (Knowles et al., 2015).
6. Support immediate application
Give volunteers opportunities to practice and apply new knowledge and skills during training or soon afterward. Practice, feedback, and opportunities to apply new skills can help volunteers build confidence and prepare to use what they learned in their actual roles (Knowles et al., 2015; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], n.d.).
Apply These Principles to Curriculum Design
These principles have direct implications for curriculum design. A curriculum for adult volunteers should not simply organize information or tell volunteers what they need to know. It should create opportunities for volunteers to understand, practice, apply, and reflect on what they are learning.
When reviewing a volunteer training curriculum, ask:
Does this connect to what volunteers already know?
Do volunteers understand why this information matters?
Are they practicing skills they will actually use?
Are the examples based on realistic situations?
Do volunteers have opportunities to participate?
Can they apply what they learned in their roles?
Using these questions as a design checklist can help organizations move from information delivery to meaningful learning.
How to Design a Train the Trainer Curriculum
A strong Train the Trainer curriculum gives volunteer trainers the structure and resources they need to deliver consistent training.
Start by identifying what volunteers need to know and do. Then build the curriculum around those learning needs.
A practical curriculum design process includes:
1. Identify the Learning Needs
Start by identifying what volunteers actually need to know and be able to do in their roles. This helps ensure the training is focused on the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that volunteers will use rather than simply covering everything the organization knows about a topic.
Consider the tasks volunteers are expected to perform, the decisions they may need to make, and the situations they are likely to encounter.
Ask: What do volunteers need to know or be able to do to succeed in their roles?
2. Write Learning Objectives
Once you know what volunteers need to learn, turn those needs into clear learning objectives. Learning objectives describe what volunteers should be able to do by the end of the training and give trainers a clear target for what to teach and practice.
Use specific, observable language that describes an action rather than simply stating what volunteers will “understand” or “know.”
For example:
After the training, volunteers will be able to demonstrate three techniques for communicating with program participants.
Clear objectives also make it easier to determine whether the training was successful and what activities or evaluation methods should be included.
3. Organize the Essential Content
Once you have identified the learning objectives, determine what information volunteers actually need to meet those objectives. Not every piece of information about a program, policy, or process needs to be included in volunteer training.
Separate essential information from material that may be useful but is not necessary for the volunteer's role. This helps keep training focused and makes it easier for volunteers to identify what they need to remember and apply.
Ask: If volunteers remember only the most important things from this training, what do they need to remember?
4. Build Activities and Practice
Use activities that allow volunteers to apply what they are learning.
This might include:
Case studies
Demonstrations
Scenarios
Small-group discussions
Skills practice
Reflection questions
5. Connect Content to Real Volunteer Situations
Use examples that volunteers are likely to encounter in their actual roles.
For example, if you are training volunteers on confidentiality, avoid relying only on a definition or policy statement.
Put it into practice:
Scenario: You are volunteering at a community food distribution, and a neighbor asks why another person is receiving assistance. How would you respond?
Sample response: “I’m not able to share information about anyone who receives services here. I can tell you more about our program and how people can access assistance if you’d like.”
A realistic situation helps volunteers:
Connect the content to their actual role
Think through how they would respond
Practice what they would say or do
Build confidence before encountering a similar situation in the field
6. Create Facilitator Guidance
Volunteer trainers may understand the content without knowing how to teach it effectively. A curriculum can tell a trainer what to cover, while facilitator guidance helps them understand how to lead the learning experience.
Provide clear instructions that help volunteer trainers introduce activities, ask meaningful questions, explain key concepts, and respond to common challenges. This is especially important when trainers have strong subject-matter knowledge but limited facilitation experience.
For example, a facilitator guide might include:
Before the activity: Explain the purpose and give clear instructions.
During the activity: Ask questions such as, “What would you say in this situation?”
After the activity: Connect the discussion back to the key learning point.
If participants are quiet: Give them time to think, invite responses in the chat, or have them discuss with a partner.
Good facilitator guidance provides structure while still allowing volunteer trainers to use their own communication style and relevant experiences.
7. Include Evaluation
Evaluation helps you determine whether volunteers learned the knowledge, skills, and behaviors they need to perform their roles effectively.
The goal is not simply to find out whether volunteers enjoyed the training. A volunteer may rate a training highly and still be unsure how to apply what they learned.
Build evaluation into the curriculum from the beginning.
Start by identifying what you want volunteers to be able to know, do, or demonstrate after the training. Then choose a simple way to assess whether they can apply it.
Evaluation might include:
Knowledge checks to assess understanding
Scenarios to apply information to realistic situations
Role-plays to practice communication or decision-making
Demonstrations to show a skill
Observation during volunteer activities
Follow-up conversations with a supervisor
Ask Two Questions
1. What do volunteers need to learn?
Identify the knowledge, skills, and behaviors volunteers need to perform their roles.
2. How will we know they learned it?
Determine how you will assess whether volunteers can understand, demonstrate, or apply what they learned.
For example:
If volunteers are trained on de-escalation, asking whether they enjoyed the training does not tell you whether they can use the skills. A stronger evaluation might give them a realistic situation and ask them to explain how they would respond.
This approach reflects Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2006) training evaluation model, which distinguishes between participants’ reactions to training and evidence of learning and application. For volunteer training, evaluation does not need to be complicated. A simple activity that allows volunteers to demonstrate what they learned can provide much more useful information than a satisfaction survey alone.
Reference: Kirkpatrick, D. L., & Kirkpatrick, J. D. (2006). Evaluating training programs: The four levels (3rd ed.). Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
The Two Layers of Train the Trainer
An effective Train the Trainer program has two connected layers:
Content
What volunteers need to know and do.
This includes policies, procedures, technical knowledge, skills, organizational practices, and role expectations.
Facilitation
How volunteer trainers help adults learn that content.
This includes adult learning, questioning, discussion, activities, demonstrations, practice, feedback, and evaluation.
This distinction is important because knowing how to do something is different from knowing how to teach someone else to do it.
An experienced volunteer may understand a process extremely well but still need support learning how to explain it, demonstrate it, facilitate practice, and provide useful feedback.
How to Train Volunteer Trainers
Volunteer trainers need training on both the subject matter and the skills required to facilitate learning.
A Train the Trainer program might include:
Adult learning principles
Andragogy
Facilitation skills
Presentation skills
Asking effective questions
Leading group discussions
Using activities and practice
Giving feedback
Responding to challenging questions
Using the organization's curriculum
Evaluating participant learning
Managing different levels of experience
The goal is not to turn every experienced volunteer into a professional educator. The goal is to give them the skills and structure needed to facilitate effective volunteer training.
Practice Before Training Others
Before volunteer trainers lead a real session, allow them to practice.
A simple process is:
Teach → Receive Feedback → Reflect → Revise → Teach Again
For example, a volunteer trainer could select a 10-minute section of the curriculum and teach it to staff or other volunteer trainers. Afterward, the group can provide feedback on:
Clarity: Were the instructions and key concepts easy to understand?
Pacing: Did the trainer allow enough time for discussion and activities?
Engagement: Were participants given opportunities to participate?
Facilitation: Did the trainer ask useful questions and guide the discussion?
Content: Were there gaps, confusing sections, or areas that need clarification?
The trainer can then revise the session and teach it again. This process builds facilitator confidence while giving the organization an opportunity to identify and improve gaps in the curriculum before the training reaches volunteers.
This approach is consistent with research on deliberate practice, which emphasizes repeated practice, feedback, and adjustment as a way to improve performance (Ericsson et al., 1993).
How Train the Trainer Supports Volunteer Leadership Development
One of the strongest benefits of the Train the Trainer model is that it creates another pathway for volunteer leadership development.
Not every experienced volunteer wants to become a committee chair, board member, or formal volunteer coordinator. Some volunteers may want to lead by sharing their knowledge with others.
A volunteer leadership pathway might look like:
Volunteer → Experienced Volunteer → Volunteer Trainer → Lead Trainer
Training other volunteers can become a meaningful form of volunteer leadership. The leadership opportunity allows organizations to recognize that volunteers can contribute in different ways. Volunteers are not only recipients of training. Experienced volunteers can become part of the organization's training capacity and leadership pipeline.
How to Maintain Consistency Across Volunteer Trainers
Organizations may worry that different volunteer trainers will deliver the same training differently. This is a reasonable concern, especially when multiple volunteers are responsible for delivering the same curriculum.
Consistency does not mean that every trainer needs to use exactly the same words or have the same presentation style. Instead, organizations can establish consistency around the essential learning experience: what participants need to learn, what activities they complete, what key messages they receive, and how learning is evaluated.
This is where strong curriculum design becomes important.
A Train the Trainer curriculum can provide a common structure that includes:
Learning objectives
Core content
Activities
Practice
Facilitator guidance
Discussion questions
Key messages
Evaluation
The goal is consistency in the essential content while allowing trainers to bring their own communication style and relevant examples.
Organizations can also create a trainer guide that identifies which information must be covered, which activities are required, and where trainers have flexibility.
Practical Tips for Building a Volunteer Train the Trainer Program
Start With One Training
Do not try to convert every volunteer training into a Train the Trainer model. Start with recurring training where the need is clear.
Build the Curriculum First
Volunteer trainers need a clear structure, learning objectives, activities, and facilitator guidance before they begin teaching.
Design for Adult Learners
Make training relevant, practical, participatory, and connected to volunteers' experiences.
Choose Trainers Based on More Than Experience
Look for volunteers who are knowledgeable, reliable, interested in leadership, and comfortable supporting others.
Include Practice
Give trainers an opportunity to teach before they are responsible for a real training session.
Create Facilitator Materials
Provide trainer guides, presentation materials, activities, discussion questions, checklists, and other resources.
Build in Feedback
Observe trainers or gather participant feedback so the organization can continually improve the training.
Keep the Curriculum Updated
When policies, procedures, programs, or best practices change, update the curriculum and prepare trainers to communicate those changes.
Recognize Volunteer Trainers
Training other volunteers is a leadership contribution. Recognize the additional responsibility these volunteers take on.
Reflection Questions for Volunteer Managers
Before creating a Train the Trainer program, consider:
Which volunteer training do we deliver repeatedly?
Which training requires the most staff time?
What knowledge already exists within our volunteer team?
Which experienced volunteers could potentially become trainers?
How well does our current curriculum support adult learning?
Are volunteers practicing the skills they are expected to use?
Where could we use real volunteer experiences as part of training?
What leadership opportunities could volunteer training create?
What support would volunteer trainers need to be successful?
When Is Train the Trainer a Good Fit?
The Train the Trainer model may be a good fit when an organization:
Regularly trains new volunteers
Has experienced volunteers with specialized knowledge
Needs to expand training capacity
Wants to develop volunteer leaders
Has repeatable training content
Wants to reduce reliance on a single trainer
Needs a consistent approach to volunteer onboarding
It may be less appropriate when training is highly specialized, delivered very rarely, or requires expertise that volunteers cannot reasonably be expected to maintain.
The key question is:
Can experienced volunteers be prepared to teach this content accurately, consistently, and effectively?
If the answer is yes, Train the Trainer may provide a practical way to expand your organization's training capacity.
Frequently Asked Questions About Train the Trainer and Volunteer Training
What is the Train the Trainer model?
The Train the Trainer model is a training approach in which selected individuals are prepared to teach and facilitate learning for others. In nonprofit organizations, experienced volunteers can be trained to deliver volunteer orientation, skills training, program training, or other learning experiences.
Can volunteers train other volunteers?
Yes. Experienced volunteers can be trained to become peer trainers when they have the necessary subject-matter knowledge, communication skills, preparation, and organizational support.
What is andragogy in volunteer training?
Andragogy is an approach to adult learning associated with Malcolm Knowles. It recognizes that adult learners bring prior experience and are more likely to engage when learning is relevant, practical, problem-centered, and connected to their needs (Knowles et al., 2015).
How does adult learning apply to volunteer training?
Adult learning principles can help organizations design volunteer training that connects to volunteers' experiences, explains why the content matters, provides opportunities for practice, and focuses on real situations volunteers may encounter.
What is the role of curriculum design in Train the Trainer?
Curriculum design provides the structure trainers need to deliver consistent learning experiences. A strong curriculum includes learning objectives, essential content, activities, practice, facilitator guidance, and evaluation.
What should be included in a Train the Trainer program?
A Train the Trainer program should include both subject-matter content and trainer development. Topics may include adult learning, facilitation, communication, curriculum delivery, practice, feedback, and evaluation.
How does Train the Trainer support volunteer management?
Train the Trainer can expand volunteer training capacity, support consistent onboarding, create leadership opportunities, preserve organizational knowledge, and distribute responsibility for training across experienced volunteers and staff.
How does Train the Trainer develop volunteer leaders?
Train the Trainer creates a leadership opportunity for experienced volunteers by allowing them to teach, mentor, facilitate, and support other volunteers. It can become part of a broader volunteer leadership development pathway.
Conclusion
Volunteers training volunteers can expand an organization’s capacity to train, onboard, and develop its volunteer workforce. A well-designed Train the Trainer model combines strong curriculum design with adult learning principles, trainer preparation, practice, feedback, and ongoing support.
For nonprofit organizations, the model is more than a way to deliver training. It can become part of a broader volunteer management and leadership development strategy by creating opportunities for experienced volunteers to share knowledge, build skills, and take on greater responsibility.
When volunteers are equipped to train others, organizations can distribute knowledge, strengthen onboarding, create new leadership pathways, and reduce reliance on a single staff member or trainer. The result is a volunteer program where people contribute not only through the work they do, but also through the knowledge, skills, and leadership they bring to others.
The goal is simple: Build the capacity of volunteers to help other volunteers learn, contribute, and lead.
Additional Resources
Trainings:
Train the Trainers Workshop: Design, Engage and Equity - In this workshop, we discuss how to lead engaging small group exercises and practice methods for managing participants. We cover adult learning theory and practices, ways to make mandatory training fun, engaged learning, how to design for equity, how to support participants, and building your trainer toolkit.
Effective Volunteer Management: Recruitment, Training, Retention, Committees & Manage Difficult Volunteers - This training covers key aspects of volunteer management, including recruitment strategies, effective volunteer training methods, and best practices for volunteer retention. Participants will learn how to build a leadership pipeline, handle challenging volunteer situations, and update volunteer protocols using practical samples and templates for a volunteer program.
Trauma-Informed Facilitation: Incorporating TI Practices in Group Conversations & Training - This workshop will cover how to use trauma-informed facilitation practices to plan, create, and design. Using trauma-informed principles of facilitation, we will cover the structure and format of facilitated experiences, review how to create an agenda, design a facilitated experience, and how to handle disclosures, disruptions, and other facilitation challenges. This workshop is for facilitators and trainers who lead community-based conversations with adults where difficult topics may arise or in-depth discussions may occur.
Use code friend10 for $10 off!
Volunteer Management Resources
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Training development basics. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100(3), 363–406.
Kirkpatrick, D. L., & Kirkpatrick, J. D. (2006). Evaluating training programs: The four levels (3rd ed.). Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., III, & Swanson, R. A. (2015). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (8th ed.). Routledge.
Wisshak, S., Schäfer, P., & van Waveren, L. (2025). Train-the-trainer: A generic offer-and-use model for the development of trainers. International Journal of Training and Development, 29(4), 449–461. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijtd.12370
