What is learning and development?

What is learning and development?

Learning and development, often shortened to L&D or written as learning & development, is the part of an organisation focused on helping people build the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to do their jobs well and grow in their roles.

In practice, L&D covers everything from onboarding and compliance training to leadership development, coaching, reskilling and career growth. It is not just about delivering courses. It is about improving performance, capability and adaptability across the business.

For many organisations, L&D is how they close skills gaps, support employee engagement and prepare teams for change. A strong learning and development strategy helps people learn faster, perform better and stay ready for new tools, processes and expectations.

What does L&D mean?

L&D means learning and development.

In a business context, it usually refers to the team, function or strategy responsible for building employee capability. You may also hear it called training and development, but L&D is the broader term because it includes formal training as well as on-the-job learning, coaching and leadership development.

Learning vs development

Learning and development are related, but they are not the same thing.

Learning is the process of gaining knowledge or understanding. Development is the process of building skill, confidence and capability over time.

A simple way to think about it is this:

• Learning helps someone understand a concept
• Development helps someone apply that concept and grow in practice

So, if an employee completes a course on feedback skills, that is learning. If they use those skills consistently and become a stronger manager over time, that is development.

Why learning and development matters

Learning and development matters because workplaces change quickly.

New technology, shifting customer expectations and changing regulations all create new capability needs. Without a clear L&D approach, skills gaps widen and performance slows down.

A good L&D function helps organisations:

• Improve employee performance
• Support onboarding and role readiness
• Build leadership and management capability
• Retain talent by investing in growth
• Adapt faster to business change
• Improve consistency across teams

In other words, L&D is not a nice-to-have. It is a practical way to keep people and the business moving forward.

A brief history of learning and development

The history of learning and development is closely tied to the history of workplace training.

Early L&D was mostly classroom-based and focused on standardised training. Over time, organisations began to recognise that people learn in different ways and that development needs to continue after onboarding.

Today, L&D is much broader. It includes digital learning, blended learning, coaching, performance support, peer learning and data-driven planning. In many businesses, L&D has become a strategic function rather than an administrative one.

What does the learning and development department do?

The learning and development department designs and supports employee learning across the organisation.

Typical responsibilities include:

• Identifying capability gaps
• Creating training plans and learning pathways
• Supporting onboarding and role transitions
• Managing learning platforms and content
• Measuring training effectiveness
• Working with managers on team development
• Supporting leadership and succession planning

In some businesses, the L&D team works centrally. In others, it partners closely with HR, operations and department leaders.

Learning and development providers and platforms

Learning and development providers help organisations design, deliver or manage training at scale.

This can include consulting support, content creation, coaching services or technology platforms. Many teams also use a learning platform or LMS to organise training, track completion and support ongoing development.

If you are looking at how technology can support your L&D strategy, see how Thrive's platform supports L&D teams.

Examples of learning and development programmes

Common learning and development programmes include:

• Onboarding programmes
• Compliance training
• Sales enablement
• Leadership development
• Management training
• Coaching and mentoring
• Reskilling and upskilling initiatives
• Succession planning programmes

These programmes help businesses build capability in the areas that matter most.

Learning and development in practice

Real L&D programmes show measurable results when they are structured properly. Burger King promoted 66% of managers internally after building leadership development pathways with Thrive. DECIEM achieved 95% active users with a structured onboarding rollout. Ann Summers increased product sales by 8.2% through sales enablement training built around real product knowledge.

See more learning and development case studies from organisations using Thrive.

Learning and development FAQ's

What is learning and development in a company?

It is the function that helps employees build skills, knowledge and capability so they can perform better and grow in their roles.

What is the difference between learning and development?

Learning is the process of gaining knowledge or understanding. Development is the process of building skill, confidence and capability over time through applying what has been learned.

What are examples of learning and development?

Examples include onboarding, leadership training, coaching, compliance learning, mentoring and digital skills programmes.

Why is learning and development important?

It helps organisations close skills gaps, improve performance, retain talent and adapt to change.

How much should companies invest in learning and development?

Investment varies by organisation size and sector, but the more useful question is what outcomes the investment is expected to drive, such as faster onboarding, stronger leadership pipelines or measurable skills growth, rather than a fixed budget figure.

What does an L&D budget typically cover?

An L&D budget typically covers platform or technology costs, content creation or licensing, facilitator or coaching time, and the internal team's time to plan, deliver and measure training.

Understanding what learning and development means is the foundation of building a strategy that actually improves performance. Explore how Thrive's platform supports L&D teams.