Trainer ( Skyrim ) Trainers are NPCs who help increase proficiency in skills in . Most trainers offer their services from the start of the game , but some require certain tasks to be performed first . Skills can only be trained five times per level , until the skill level exceeds the level of the trainer . All training requires that a fee be paid . Gold is automatically subtracted from the inventory when a training session is accepted . After you pay the Trainers you can Pickpocket the Trainers for your money back . Changes from previous games . Unlike and , trainers in only offer skill leveling from Adept upwards . In previous games , trainers offered Apprentice - level and Novice - level training . There are skill trainers in " Skyrim " labeled as " Common " trainers ; this is incorrectly labeled , as the trainers offer their services up to the Adept level . Unlike " Morrowind " and " Oblivion " , there are no means to be trained all the way to level 100 in a skill . Also different from the previous two games is that trainers will only train up to five skill levels per character level . Cost . The more advanced the training session is , the higher it will cost . The cost of training a skill up can be calculated as follows : Level 15 – 50 : " 10 * [ skill level ] + 50 " Level 51 – 75 : " 30 * [ skill level ] + 50 " Level 75 – 90 : " 50 * [ skill level ] + 50 " This cost is based on the skill level after all modifications . So for example , Speech training while wearing an Amulet of Dibella will be priced at a level 15 points higher than the raw skill level . It is thus best to remove relevant equipment before training . Trainers that are also merchants , such as Arcadia in Whiterun , add the gold paid to them for training into their inventory . One can easily recover gold spent on training by selling them items . The gold can also be pickpocket ed back from the trainer , albeit difficult if it is a large amount . Proficiencies . The proficiency of trainers varies : Once the Dragonborn ' s skill level reaches higher than the trainer ' s level , the option for training disappears as there is no more that can be learned from this person . Free training . There are several quests or tasks available that grant free skill increases as a reward . They function much like skill books and are treated in the same way as regular skill increases . Exploits . Free training can be exploited if a follower is also a trainer . Upon completion of a training session , the option to trade items with a follower can be selected to access their inventory and take back the money that was just spent on training . There are only seven trainers who are followers : Additionally , gold can be pickpocketed back after training sessions , but this becomes impossible at higher levels ( even with maximum Pickpocket and Sneak skills ) as the amount of gold paid is often in the thousands . This can be surmounted by knocking down the trainer in some way , and then pickpocketing the gold back while they are on the ground . You can pickpocket anything in a knocked down NPC ' s inventory with no bounty , even if the chance of success appears to be 0 % . To knock down an NPC , use Unrelenting Force with all three power words , do a power attack with a two - handed weapon ( you may receive bounty ) , or reverse - pickpocket a paralysis poison into their inventory .