Teacher : A person who works to imparts knowedge in an official institution of formal education being responsible for the overall learning progress of the learners undertaken by him/her. It would include those teachers in preschools, schools,colleges and universities, etc.

Trainer : A person who guides and supports someone in acquiring new physical skills by participating in the physical activities and demonstrating the ways to properly achieve the desired goals in a systematic manner.A gym trainer, a sports trainer, a dance trainer, etc, are a few examples.

Instructor : A person who provides live interactions to the learners during a learning activity which is a part of the program.An instructor cannot work without a teacher. Either the instructor has acted as a teacher to teach the basicpre-requisites of that activity or there has to be a separate teacher to do that, e.g. in the case of a flight instructor.

Role of an Instructor Instructor has the following important roles to play in thetraining institute.

As an Organizer

•Organize a training programme: Based on thesyllabus provided, the Instructor has to organize theentire training programme by analyzing it further.

•Prepare training material: Before commencing the course the Instructor has to prepare various kinds of teaching aids like lesson plan, information sheet,training aids, demonstration plan, etc. This requires a lot of preparation.

•Conduct a training programme: The main job of avocational instructor is to conduct training programme, which includes planning, preparation, presentation,testing and evaluation.

•Workshop demonstration: For acquiring particular skill there will be certain steps which are to be followed.For example, stitching of a garment, an instructor has to draw the style feature on the chalkboard. Then Instructor has to do the drafting of the same either on the board or on a paper. The paper pattern is marked on the cloth & then cutting is performed. The cut component will be stitched with the help of sewing machine. By attending the demonstration the trainees will learn the entire cutting & stitching procedure.

•Attitude Formation: An instructor must motivate and guide to improve the attitude of the trainees towards the training without which they will not be able to acquire the skill which has been taught.

•Evaluation & Grading: No training is completed if it is not properly evaluated & graded. The extent of instructional objectives achieved will be known through testing and evaluation. Grading will help the learners to perform better than the previous test. Instructor's efficiency in teaching also will be known by means of evaluation and grading.

As a Manager

•Maintenance of tools & equipments: For conducting training various kinds of tools & equipments are required. An instructor has to procure all tools and equipments as per the syllabus & maintain them properly.

•Supervise the practical training: During the practical exercise it is very much necessary for the instructor to be present with the trainee. Just by giving the theoretical knowledge to the trainees and then asking them to do practical work is not enough. But the Instructor must be physically present to supervise and guide the trainees.

•Liaison with the institution: The Instructor is the link between administration & the trainees. So Instructor has to inform the administration about the training activity of the trade. At the same time Instructor must also keep the student informed about the instructions issued by the administration. 

As a Student Vocational instructor should always update their knowledge, upgrade their skill with new techniques,  depending upon the changes in latest technology.