4 Responses

1. A start…
   The starting point for me would be the organisation’s aims and objectives – strategic and operational. In theory, all learning needs would be assessed against these objectives, so that the organisation’s priorities cascade down to an individual level. It might highlight that it is unlikely that one group would have a continually greater right to training over another – I would be asking head office staff for evidence for this.

   Identification of needs is usually done through a performance management system. So, individuals would receive regular reviews of their performance. The development they undertake would then bridge the gap between what the organisation needs them to do, and what they are currently not able to do. Any training request would be measured against organisational priorities. However, although identification at an individual level is important, there are often collective needs – a training needs analysis by team/status/site etc might also highlight local or shared needs.

   In my current working environment we also try to use a stepped prioritisation approach: Statutory/Mandatory; Essential to Role; Desirable for the Organisation; Desirable for the Individual. It helps to ask people to state which level their request is at and provide evidence for this. This is also useful for weighing requests against one another and attempting to prioritise when resources are really tight.

   In practice, it is still helpful to retain a bit of flexibility, and there are power relations to deal with. The bottom line for me is that the request should answer the question ‘Why do we need this?’

   Hope that gives you a start.

   Colin

2. Thank You
   Thanks Colin that’s a great help

3. Training Priorities
   Hi Lawrence

   I have worked the levels such as Colin suggested, this approach aligns well to training supporting the main organisational goals. Having a clear plan which identifies what activity will be funded and the elements that are unfunded I have found of great value. This approach provides a transparent approach and enables the local Director/managers to refocus their priorities as the year progresses and changes take place.

   Hope this helps

   Graham
   http://www.changesolutionsuk.com

4. Managing Training Requests
   We use an online training management system (www.Accessplanit.com) which helped us solve a similar challenge we were faced with.

   Briefly, the system allows you to generate an online courses database of all approved internal / external courses (the system allows you to restrict courses to a particular region / branch if required). Every employee has a unique login / password and can access the course database to find and book courses. A simple online booking system allows bookings to be made directly with training providers.You may not want all employees to book courses directly (we certainly dont!!) so their booking requests can be sent to their line manager or head office who can then authorise or decline through the online system.

   All training records can be stored on the system with future requirments and skills gaps easily identified.

   This system enabled us to open up a wide range of trainig to all our employees.

   Hope this helps.
   Steve