I agree with you and Deirdre, Heather. I've spent the last year attending workshops by the Canadian Training and Standards Development. Much of what they have to offer is extremely basic, but it's been a fantastic way to meet people involved with corporate training and start networking.
I find most of the people given the title "instructional designer", in the corporate world, are those who have worked up through the ranks. They start as a front line agent, then a team lead, then a supervisor, and finally an instructor. It seems to be a small step from instructor to ID. Once an instructor, they are sent to a 2 or 4 day workshop to learn how to be an ID. There are only two of us in the department who have actual education backgrounds and degrees to support our profession.