Necessity and strategy of training

When is training necessary and when is it strategic?

Training can be a necessity. For example, as technology develops and new possibilities for increased efficiency become available, employees require ongoing training, without which, they would be at a disadvantage. Furthermore, there will be specific developments in particular industries which demand continual training of employees in order to keep up with processes and requirements.

Training also differs in accordance with the people being trained. Characteristics such as age, experience, disability, education and knowledge will all impact upon the design of training. For example, a young learner driver with no experience is likely to be less confident and may lack understanding of driving terminology. However, on an advanced driving course, the learners will be more confident on the road and more familiar with terminology; therefore the training experience should be very different.

Training is not always planned in reaction to specific organisational or individual needs that have arisen. Training is often planned as part of a proactive, strategic approach.

Here are some examples of potential strategic objectives for training:

• Businesses must change to remain competitive, eg changes in working practices or infrastructure
  • The speed of change is important and training can increase the speed of adoption of changes
  • Innovation of change strategy
• Quality enhancement strategy
  • Fewer errors = better customer service and reduced customer turnover
• Cost reduction strategy
  • Fewer errors = less wastage of materials and maximum time efficiency