What does a learning specialist do?
Learning specialists are highly skilled teachers providing educational support to students who struggle academically at schools. They are responsible for working closely with students and their parents to develop a learning strategy suitable for a student's learning style to improve their grades and academic progress. Other responsibilities of a learning specialist include educating teachers and parents on learning differences, communicating with teachers and parents regularly about a student's progress, and keeping abreast of current teaching methods.
Learning specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real learning specialist resumes:
- Lead strategic planning for eLearning initiatives and manage company-wide training for laboratory information system update.
- Manage the integration of the student information system Jenzabar CX/JICS with Moodle.
- Lead experiential learning in supervisory skills, conflict management, leadership, team building and organization process effectiveness.
- Instruct on how to create PowerPoint presentations and debate an argument during an oral defense.
- Develop individualized education plans for students who receive math intervention services.
- Tutor and advise undergraduate level courses in introductory statistics and mathematics.
- Develop and maintain competency base training materials supporting structure OJT systems.
- Leverage training / development skills to configure an eLearning platform to suit university objectives.
- Develop and execute materiel management programs, to include inventory control and distribution throughout the logistics system.
- Supervise logistics support analysis personnel, to ensure technical integrity of data, prior to formatting for publication.
- Work directly with e-training manager to create training procedures in PowerPoint and convert them into interactive e-training courses in articulate storyline.
- Provide expertise in contractor compliance with programmatic and contractual requirements and risk assessment as outlined in military regulations and DOD guidelines.
- Conduct lectures, guide discussions, and classroom practical training exercises to familiarize students with DoD acquisition testing methodologies and requirements.
- Develop an in-depth diversity train-the-trainer program for facilitators that provide legally-based fundamentals, facilitation skills, facilitator assessment, and testing.
- Create learning strategy and ROI analysis spreadsheets.
Learning specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Learning Specialists are proficient in Customer Service, Professional Development, and Project Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Instructional skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Learning Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 9%
Perform customer service in a primarily outbound environment to test new programs designed to enhance customer service and encourage customer retention.
- Professional Development, 6%
Lead bi-monthly professional developments on teacher-made curriculum and reading instruction in general education classrooms on whole differentiation and small group instruction.
- Project Management, 5%
Partner with various departments and offer Project Management expertise for different projects.
- Subject Matter Experts, 5%
Collaborated with project owners and subject matter experts in analyzing training needs, identifying desired outcomes and establishing performance metrics.
- PowerPoint, 4%
Generated training and communication materials using Articulate and PowerPoint for Investigator Meetings and New Employee On-Boarding sessions.
- Instructional Design, 4%
Experienced in curriculum development and/or instructional design and the understanding and application of Kirkpatrick's four levels of program evaluation.
Common skills that a learning specialist uses to do their job include "customer service," "professional development," and "project management." You can find details on the most important learning specialist responsibilities below.
Creativity. The most essential soft skill for a learning specialist to carry out their responsibilities is creativity. This skill is important for the role because "specialists should be resourceful when developing training materials." Additionally, a learning specialist resume shows how their duties depend on creativity: "developed and performed creative learning strategies for gifted and talented students with spelling"
Instructional skills. Many learning specialist duties rely on instructional skills. "training and development specialists deliver employee training programs," so a learning specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways learning specialist responsibilities rely on instructional skills: "designed instructional and learning strategies for special education students. "
Analytical skills. learning specialists are also known for analytical skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to learning specialist responsibilities, because "training and development specialists must evaluate training programs, methods, and materials and choose those that best fit each situation." A learning specialist resume example shows how analytical skills is used in the workplace: "evaluated and improved curriculum effectiveness through data collection / metrics of learning outcomes against learning objectives and defined business goals. "
Communication skills. learning specialist responsibilities often require "communication skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "training and development specialists must convey information clearly and facilitate learning to diverse audiences." This resume example shows what learning specialists do with communication skills on a typical day: "developed communication strategy to promote new learning programs and benefits. "
The three companies that hire the most learning specialists are:
- General Motors52 learning specialists jobs
- McKinsey & Company Inc50 learning specialists jobs
- Wells Fargo14 learning specialists jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable learning specialist resume templates
Build a professional learning specialist resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your learning specialist resume.
Compare different learning specialists
Learning specialist vs. Trainer lead
As a training lead, you are responsible for overseeing a company's employee training and development activities. You are also expected to perform various tasks that may include identifying training needs for the organization, supervising trainers' work, and developing effective employee training programs. Other duties and responsibilities may be conducting a readiness assessment, maintaining training information, and coordinating and reviewing the logistics of training materials. Also, you are expected to organize safety training and develop conflict resolution modules and diversity appreciation.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a learning specialist are more likely to require skills like "project management," "powerpoint," "instructional design," and "learning solutions." On the other hand, a job as a trainer lead requires skills like "punctuality," "cpr," "leadership," and "safety procedures." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that trainer leads earn slightly differ from learning specialists. In particular, trainer leads are 17.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a learning specialist. Additionally, they're 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Learning specialist vs. Staff development coordinator
Staff development coordinators take responsibility for the creation and enactment of employee training programs. These programs should be in alignment with the company's objectives. They look for interesting and creative techniques to disseminate the information. They aim to see to it that workers attain a better understanding of the material used. They also advance the initiatives of the enterprise by finding business partners.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that learning specialist responsibilities requires skills like "customer service," "project management," "subject matter experts," and "powerpoint." But a staff development coordinator might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "staff development," "emr," "patients," and "in-service programs."
On average, staff development coordinators earn a higher salary than learning specialists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, staff development coordinators earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $66,411. Whereas learning specialists have higher pay in the insurance industry, with an average salary of $77,410.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Staff development coordinators tend to reach lower levels of education than learning specialists. In fact, they're 14.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for learning specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Kate Seltzer Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Rowan University
Learning specialist vs. Epic credentialed trainer
Epic credential trainers are professionals who are trained at the hospital client where they provide training to users. The responsibilities of the trainers include the delivery of end-user training and assistance in technicalities. They balance various projects and their deadlines while still managing caseloads. Their job involves the establishment and enforcement of training interventions. Also, they offer extensive customer service through communication on a professional level and provide support via telephone or WebEx.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from learning specialist resumes include skills like "customer service," "professional development," "project management," and "subject matter experts," whereas an epic credentialed trainer is more likely to list skills in "ehr," "patients," "end user training," and "coordinators. "
Epic credentialed trainers make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $77,624. On the other hand, learning specialists are paid the highest salary in the insurance industry, with average annual pay of $77,410.epic credentialed trainers typically earn lower educational levels compared to learning specialists. Specifically, they're 11.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Learning specialist vs. Corporate trainer
A corporate trainer is someone who essentially works as a teacher in a corporate setting. Daily duties include training employees with new company systems, skills, and strategies. They monitor the engagement levels and performance of the training participants. Also, they collaborate with project stakeholders to create training content and design. Corporate trainers must have high interpersonal skills to connect with trainers easily and to get them to participate actively in the training sessions. Preferred candidates for the job are those with a bachelor's degree in human resources or those with relevant job experience in the same field.
Types of learning specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
