How to become a Training and Development Specialist

The success of a company is dependent on the combined effort of all its employees. The growth and development of the employees leads to improvement in their performances and ultimately benefits the company itself. In addition, the employees remain grateful to their employers and satisfied with their work. Companies that are concerned about their workers hire training and development specialists. The training and development specialist evaluate the needs of the training required for the employees with respect to the business goals as well as their personal development, and design the customized training program, implement them and finally evaluate the impact of the training on both the employee as well as the company.

The most common methods of delivering training are lectures, group discussions, team exercises, hands-on examples etc. In recent times due to technological developments, training could also be delivered with the help of computers, laptops or other devices.

• To evaluate the need of a training program with respect to the organization as well as the employees, their preferences, etc. through conducting surveys, interviews, focus groups.
• To design a custom training program that meets all the requirements of both parties
• To determine the curriculum and activities for training, develop materials and tutorial videos required, choose the instructor with required expertise to conduct the training etc.
• To coordinate with the instructor, employees and organization.
• To give constant updates regarding the training program to the organization and to create and maintain a record on the details of the training program.
• To evaluate the impact of the training program through assessing the key improvements in their performance, organizational benefits and personal achievements of the employees.
• To provide feedback to the instructor.
• To assist in administrative tasks such as monitoring, cost scheduling classes, etc.

• The role of a training and developmental specialist is to assess the needs of the organization and employees in terms of improvements in education and training. In order to identify various requirements common to both the parties and offer feasible solutions, critical thinking skills could be helpful. From the wide array of choices, thanks to our technological and educational developments, the ability to choose the appropriate training program depends on their analytical skills.
• The whole process requires coordination between the organization, the instructor of the training program and the employees.
• Good interpersonal skills and communication skills are required to get along with people and take things forward.
• Leadership skills and ability to motivate others are an added advantage. They must also be able to use several learning delivery techniques, and ability to give presentations and communicate information and details to a wide variety of people.