"While there are some significant trends, our research shows professional development is really not a one-size-fits all approach," Brown says. "Employers should take the time to truly understand which programs and training opportunities would be most important to help every employee progress in his or her career in a meaningful way."

The report cites specific training goals among employees, such as the big winner—management and leadership training—chosen by 32 percent of respondents as their top choice for an employee professional development program. Next most popular among workers were professional certification (30 percent) and technical skills training (17 percent).

Then there are the less popular options, chosen by less than 10 percent of respondents: teamwork/interpersonal skills training (8 percent), employer-subsidized degree (7 percent), communications/public speaking (4 percent) and diversity and inclusion training (2 percent).

Men look to training courses as stepping stones for promotion/advancement, at 37 percent, while women see them as means to higher pay, at 35 percent. And when it came to type of training, that varied depending on the field in which employees work. For instance, 36 percent of health care employees said they were most interested in professional certifications from the selection of training program options, but workers in human resources were the most likely to want professional certification (43 percent) when compared to other occupations.

Then there's the age variation. Millennials wanted professional development across the three top programs: management/leadership training, professional certification and technical skills training. But boomers were more interested in teamwork/interpersonal skills training and public speaking training than millennials.

Read more: 

• Amazon to invest $700 million in retraining its workforce
• How staff training and development helps the bottom line
• How you can improve your leadership development program–according to millennials