Nigel Gan, APTD has been a member of ATD since 2017 from Japan. Here's his story in his own words.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I've found that no matter where you are living, you can make a difference. I'm originally from Sydney, Australia, and started my career—my first taste of training—as a privacy advisor in the Department of Justice in Victoria, Australia. I now work at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Hiroshima office in Japan, where I wear a few hats as part of UNITAR's Division for Prosperity.
I am the lead for instructional design and quality assurance, the project manager for our Afghanistan and disarmament capacity building training portfolios. I mainly work on leadership, empowerment, and entrepreneurship programs and manage the division’s media and communications team. I am lucky that I get to meet people from all walks of life from all around the world, having developed and delivered training to participants from more than 60 countries.
What are your professional goals?
I'm working to obtain my CPLP this year and to supercharge our e-learning at UNITAR so we can reach more people, more effectively, leaving no one behind.
What challenges have overcome in your career?
Like many of us, I was originally thrown by accident into design and facilitation. I was not good with public speaking, and I still starkly remember the first training session I facilitated—on mandatory privacy compliance—and totally bombed. Yet it sparked my interest in designing and facilitating effective training, and here I am now.
What’s the most valuable thing you’ve gained or experienced during your membership with ATD?
Upskilling and networking. I did my first formal training three years ago—the ATD Master Trainer—and it was game-changing. I've since completed the Master Instructional Designer and the APTD, and it provides valuable insight into not only, "Oh, that's why we do it this way" and "Oooh, we should do it this way," but also into a broad platform of good practice and theories that we can implement to take our everyday work to the next level.
Linked to this, networking with colleagues from around the world who often are facing, or have faced, similar challenges, is invaluable. I attended the ATD International Conference & EXPO and spoke at the ATD Japan conference last year, and I learned something from everyone I met.
Can you share any professional tips, specific to talent development, that you have picked up along the way?
What I've found, and what I always emphasize, is that it all comes down to communication. Good communication is hard. Whether it is working with government officials to identify the needs among the wants, engaging project stakeholders, or supporting individuals as they upskill, everyone has their own rich tapestry of experiences and circumstances from which we can all learn, yet we often don’t. Having open, two-way communication, using lessons learned, and working to ensure that participants are walking away with the ability to undertake change all comes down to effective communication.
What’s a common misconception you see when it comes to talent development?
I'm sure many of us see this. Needs versus wants. The idea that training can fix any problem and is the solution to all performance issues, "We need training."
Do you have any advice for people looking to further their careers?
It's so easy to get caught up in the everyday busyness of building the capacity of your organization and beneficiaries. Don't forget to upskill yourself and find mentors who can guide you.
What is your personal definition of talent development?
Talent development is about enabling people—building their knowledge and skills to empower them to be effective in their communities or organizations.
How do you stay motivated?
As talent development professionals, we make differences in people's lives. I have been fortunate to work with, and for, beneficiaries who are determined and passionate to improve and make a difference while living in countries that are war-torn and still developing, with unimaginable pressures and difficulties. Being able to help them, to upskill them, and to build their capacity, brings all the motivation that I need.
How do you find meaning in your work?
Similarly, working to support and build the capacity of our beneficiaries—highly intelligent and motivated people from government, NGOs, civil society, media, and universities in countries that are emerging from conflict, such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and South Sudan, and seeing how our training can make a difference—improve lives, careers, organizations and communities, is humbling, and gives great meaning to the work I do.
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