You’ve got expertise to share, training to deliver or compliance requirement to meet. But turning that knowledge into learning content that actually works? That’s a different skill entirely. This is where an instructional designer comes in. Finding the right instructional designer in Ireland can be the difference between training that transforms performance and training that misses the mark or gets forgotten.
What does an instructional designer actually do?
Instructional designers are the architects of effective learning. They take subject matter expertise (yours or your team’s) and transform it into structured, engaging learning experiences that help people genuinely develop new knowledge, skills and behaviours.
It’s not just about making things look nice or putting content into slides. Instructional designers understand how people learn. They know how to sequence information so it builds logically, how to create activities that reinforce key concepts and how to design assessments that actually measure whether learning has happened.
Think of it this way: you might know your subject inside out, but our instructional designers knows how to get that knowledge into someone else’s head in a way that sticks.
What skills should you look for?
Good instructional designers bring a unique combination of abilities to the table.
Learning theory expertise. They understand the science behind how adults learn, including principles like spaced repetition, cognitive load and active learning. This isn’t just academic knowledge; it directly shapes how they structure your content.
Content structuring. They can take a mountain of information and organise it into digestible, logical chunks. They know what to include, what to leave out and in what order to present things.
Engagement strategies. They know how to keep learners interested, whether through storytelling, scenarios, interactivity or well-placed knowledge checks.
Assessment design. They can create assessments that genuinely test understanding rather than just recall, giving you meaningful data on whether your training is working.
Technical knowledge. Instructional designers at The Learning Rooms work with our eLearning developers who have expertise in authoring tools. This allows us to take a project from initial concept through to finished eLearning course.
Why work with an Irish instructional designer?
There are some real advantages to keeping your instructional design work local.
Cultural fit matters more than you’d think. Learning content that resonates with Irish audiences needs to feel relevant. An Irish instructional designer will naturally understand the tone, humour and references that work here. They’ll know what feels authentic and what feels forced.
Regulatory knowledge. If your training relates to Irish legislation, compliance requirements or industry regulations, a local designer will either already understand these or know how to research them properly.
Easier collaboration. Instructional design involves a lot of back and forth. You’ll be reviewing drafts, providing feedback and answering questions about your content. Working with someone in your time zone makes this process much smoother.
Face-to-face when it matters. Sometimes a video call isn’t enough. For complex projects or important kickoff meetings, being able to meet in person can make a real difference.
When do you need an instructional designer?
The Learning Rooms assigns a professional instructional designer to every project. The instructional designer brings many benefits:
- High-stakes training. If your training relates to safety, compliance or critical business processes, you can’t afford for it to be ineffective. An instructional designer ensures the learning actually happens.
- Complex subject matter. When the content is technical, detailed or difficult to understand, an instructional designer knows how to break it down and make it accessible without dumbing it down.
- Behaviour change goals. If you’re trying to change how people actually do their jobs (not just what they know), you need someone who understands how to design learning that drives real behaviour change.
- Large-scale rollouts. When training is going out to hundreds or thousands of learners, getting it right matters. The investment in professional instructional design pays for itself many times over.
- Refreshing outdated content. If you have existing training that isn’t working, an instructional designer can diagnose the problems and redesign it for better results.
The instructional design process
Understanding how instructional designers work can help you get the most from the partnership. The Learning Rooms instructional design process follows these steps:
- Analysis. First, they’ll dig into your needs. Who are your learners? What do they already know? What do they need to be able to do after the training? What’s getting in the way of performance right now?
- Design. Next, they’ll create a storyboard for the learning experience. This includes the structure, the learning objectives, the types of activities and how everything fits together.
- Development. Then comes the creation of the eLearning course. Our eLearning developers will the eLearning modules, facilitator guides, job aids or whatever format suits your needs.
- Implementation. They’ll help you roll out the training effectively, whether that means uploading to your learning platform, training your facilitators or planning your launch communications.
- Evaluation. Finally, they’ll help you measure whether the training is working and identify any improvements for future iterations.
The bottom line
Great training doesn’t happen by accident. It takes someone who understands both your subject matter and the science of learning to create content that genuinely makes a difference. The right instructional designer in Ireland will help you achieve your training goals more effectively than you could on your own.
If you’re planning a training project and want to explore how professional instructional design could help, we’d love to talk. At The Learning Rooms, our instructional designers have helped organisations across Ireland create award winning learning. We’d be happy to discuss your eLearning needs.
