Add up the full cost of a training program, including paid employee time, trainer time, materials and venue, per session and per trainee.
Trainee time = trainees × hours × wage × (1 + burden %).
Total = trainee time + shift cover + trainer + trainees × materials + venue and travel.
Per trainee = total ÷ trainees.
Ten employees earning $20 an hour attend an 8-hour safety course. With 20% burden, their time costs $1,920. The trainer is $600, materials $250 and the venue $300, for a total of $3,070, or $307 per trainee.
Fictional numbers for illustration only.
Managers often budget for the course fee and forget the payroll. When ten hourly employees spend a day in training, their wages and the cover needed for their shifts are real costs. This calculator puts all of it in one number so you can compare formats, such as classroom versus on-the-job training.
Under federal rules, time spent in training is generally counted as hours worked unless it meets specific conditions, such as being outside regular hours, voluntary, not directly related to the job and with no productive work. State rules can be stricter. Paid training hours also count toward overtime.
Running the calculator once per format shows which is cheaper for the same group. The figures below are invented for a team of six new forklift operators earning $19 an hour with an 18% labor burden.
| Cost line | Classroom, 16 hours | On the job, 24 hours |
|---|---|---|
| Trainee time | $2,152.32 | $3,228.48 |
| Trainer | $1,200 outside instructor | $1,585.92: two leads, 24 hours at $28 plus burden |
| Materials | $240 | $0 |
| Total | $3,592.32 | $4,814.40 |
| Per trainee | $598.72 | $802.40 |
On paper the classroom wins. The on-the-job option still produces some work during those 24 hours, though, and for equipment covered by an OSHA standard, such as powered industrial trucks under 29 CFR 1910.178, practical training and an evaluation in the workplace are required either way. Count what the format actually replaces before choosing.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, time in lectures, meetings and training programs can be left unpaid only if all four conditions in 29 CFR 785.27 are met: it is outside normal hours, truly voluntary, not directly related to the job, and the employee does no productive work during it. Required safety courses, product training and onboarding sessions usually fail at least one test, so the hours are paid and count toward the 40-hour overtime threshold. A Saturday course that pushes someone to 46 hours adds six hours at time and a half to the cost, which belongs in the cover or trainee time lines.
EZTime can tag hours by job and role and export them to Excel, which makes the actual figure easy to pull for this calculator.
For non-exempt employees it is generally counted as working time, with limited exceptions. Check federal and state rules with a qualified professional.
Record them like any other working time, with a job or activity code so you can report on them later.
Pick one measure the training should change, such as error rates or time to productivity, and compare before and after.
If the work simply waits, count cover cost. If sales or service are lost, estimate that separately.
Generally yes for non-exempt employees when it happens during the workday or is a special one-day trip, under the DOL travel time rules in 29 CFR 785.37 to 785.39. Add the travel hours to training hours per trainee.
Some employers use repayment agreements, but deductions that cut pay below minimum wage are not allowed under federal rules, and several states restrict these agreements further. Get advice before using one.
EZTime tracks hours by job or activity, so training time shows up correctly in payroll and reports. Book a demo to see it.