Diverse Roles in Learning and Development: A Guide for Beginners, Accidental L&D and Seasoned L&D Professionals

Within the field of Learning and Development (L&D), the array of role titles can be overwhelming and confusing—Instructional Designer, eLearning Designer, Learning Consultant, Content Developer, Trainer, Learning Expert, Training expert, Head of Training—the list goes on. If you’re new to this field or have stumbled into it by accident as an instructional designer, subject matter expert, or training facilitator, you might wonder: what distinguishes one role from another? Are there specific skills, qualifications, and years of experience that define each title? And, in an era where job titles can often be self-ascribed, what should one consider before claiming a particular designation?

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The Skills that Define Learning & Development Roles

Every role in L&D requires a unique blend of skills and competencies. An Instructional Designer might focus on creating effective, efficient, and engaging learning experiences grounded in adult learning theories and instructional design principles and instruction strategies.

In contrast, a Learning Consultant may lean towards diagnosing learning needs, designing comprehensive learning strategies, and advising organizations on talent development initiatives. Then there are Trainers and Facilitators, whose strength lies in effectively delivering content, engaging learners, and ensuring knowledge transfer in real time. Within the African continent, you would also find one rolled into all those, instruction designer, Learning consultant, and training delivery and facilitation.

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What’s crucial to understand is that each role isn't just a label—it represents a specific set of capabilities. Whether you’re developing content, designing an eLearning module, or facilitating a workshop, you need to possess the right mix of skills. While the titles may overlap, each role requires a unique approach to fostering learning and enhancing performance.

Then there is the, "I have been doing this for a very long time kind of professional." The fact that one has been doing something for a long time is no indicator of applying best and sound practices, one may have been doing the wrong thing for a very long time.

?Knowledge as the Foundation of Skills

Knowledge is the bedrock upon which skills are built. If you lack a solid grounding in how adults learn, learning sciences, instructional design principles, instructional strategies multimedia laws, and other critical knowledge areas, creating impactful (Definition of impact- improving employee performance with measurement and evaluation data available) learning solutions is nearly impossible. For anyone in L&D, the goal should be to deepen this foundational knowledge continually. The more you understand these principles, the better equipped you are to design, develop, and deliver learning that genuinely improves employee performance.

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The Core Purpose of Learning and Development

At its heart, L&D exists in organizations to bridge performance gaps. It’s not about fancy titles or claiming the hottest new designation in the market. The true measure of success in L&D is whether you have the knowledge and skills required to create solutions that help employees perform better. Achieving operational excellence and successfully executing an organization's strategy relies on the effectiveness of the learning and development department.

Everything else—employee retention, rewards for good performance, or even boosting morale—are secondary benefits that should never overshadow the primary objective of performance improvement.

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Why Professional Qualifications in Learning and Development Matter

For those stepping into L&D, especially in Kenya and across Africa, there’s an invaluable advantage in acquiring professional qualifications.

If you review the learning in the key units in Learning and development units for the Profession that L&D in Africa has been bestowed upon, you will find wide gaps in what is supposed to be learned by Learning and development professionals. The course unit – Human Resource Development, or by another name Training and Development covers the key areas except the “how to design, develop, implement, and evaluate learning”. It seems it's left for the learners to go figure it out at the workplace. How then do we expect Learning and development to prove its budget allocation at the workplace? This I can attest from my exams in July on a unit called Training and Development at Higher National Diploma exams for Human Resource Management.

Learning and development areas are in some country’s full degree areas by themselves and we have relegated them to a course unit.

Over the Last four years, organisations recruiting L&D roles now have Instruction design certification/qualification as a requirement, the only shortcoming in this is - There is only one academic institution offering this as of last year, and most of the time, this requirement is substituted for with experience (if it's the right experience or wrong experience is another article all by itself).

I always get this phrase in my Instruction design course -" Martin, based on everything you are teaching us here, I am now wondering as someone who has been training for the last ten years I wonder what I have been doing and calling training all that time."

?The only course of action left for Learning and development practitioners who are keen to impact their organizations and their careers is to seek learning programs offered locally and serious L&D conferences that skill Learning and development professionals.

The other recommendation is to join professional bodies for learning and development professionals and communities of practice.

If you’re an accidental instructional designer, subject matter expert, or training facilitator, consider investing in your professional growth. Engage in continuous learning, seek out learning courses in Learning and development competency areas, and connect with the wider L&D community. The impact you have will depends not on what you call yourself but on what you know and what you can do.

?In the dynamic world of Learning and Development, understanding the nuances of each role and the skills required is essential. Titles might be flexible, but skills and impact are everything. As you navigate your journey, focus on acquiring the right knowledge and developing the right skills—because, ultimately, that's what will set you apart.

Martin Wanjohi

Organisation Development| Learning Effectiveness | Strategy Execution Effectiveness | Thinker

PS -Looking to skill in Instruction design? Join our next instruction Design certificate course in October available as a blended virtual instructor course + Self-paced or attend the physical session.

Register here to receive course information. https://bit.ly/instructiondesigncertificate