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What Is Learning and Development (L&D)?

Learning and development (L&D) is the function and practice of building organisational capability through learning.

An educational definition from the HR glossary. Explore related terms below, or jump into the resource center to go deeper.

Definition

Learning and development (L&D) is the function and practice of building organisational capability through learning.

Why it matters

Capability is a competitive advantage, and L&D builds it deliberately.

Examples

Illustrative example. Designing and measuring a development programme is L&D.

For the practical detail behind this term, follow the related metric, template and resources below.

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For informational purposes only. This is an educational, plain-language definition — not legal, tax, financial or compliance advice and not an official definition. Terms and obligations vary by organisation and jurisdiction. Numeric examples are simple, placeholder-based illustrations, not data. Confirm specifics with qualified professionals.
Related concepts

Related glossary terms

Keep exploring the HR vocabulary.

Glossary

Training Effectiveness

Training effectiveness is the degree to which training changes behaviour and outcomes — not just whether it was completed.

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Competency

A competency is a defined skill, behaviour or capability needed to perform a role well.

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Mentoring

Mentoring is a developmental relationship where a more experienced person guides another’s growth.

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Measure it

Related metrics & calculators

HR metric

Training Effectiveness Metrics

Training effectiveness metrics ask not just whether training happened, but whether it changed anything.

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HR calculators

Quantify the metrics in your browser.

Open Hub

HR metrics hub

How HR measures are defined and read.

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Put it into practice

Related templates

Template

Employee Development Plan Template

A development plan turns “grow this person” into something concrete.

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Go deeper

Related resources

The clusters that put this concept into practice.

Lifecycle

Employee lifecycle

The full employee journey, stage by stage.

Open Operations

Employer operations

Run the workforce as a repeatable system.

Open Planning

Workforce planning

Strategy and organizational design.

Open Compliance

HR compliance

Documentation, records, data and policy.

Open Templates

HR templates

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Open Playbooks

HR playbooks

Step-by-step plays for people processes.

Open Technology

HR technology

Automation, analytics and systems.

Open Funnel

Recruitment funnel

Sourcing through to accepted offer.

Open Reporting

HR reporting & dashboards

Turn people data into clear views.

Open AI for HR

AI for HR

Where AI assists HR, responsibly.

Open Resource center

HR resource center

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is Learning and Development (L&D)?

Learning and development (L&D) is the function and practice of building organisational capability through learning.

Why does Learning and Development (L&D) matter?

Capability is a competitive advantage, and L&D builds it deliberately.

How is Learning and Development (L&D) measured?

It connects to the HR metric linked on this page, where you can find the formula and how to read it. This glossary entry is an educational definition, not a data source.