Do your training investments lead to business opportunities?
Tom Kraack, partner with Accenture’s Learning Outsourcing business, looks at the pressures on training and the demand for ever quicker returns. Everywhere we go these days we hear a common lament about the training function of organizations: money goes in, but who knows what comes out? Do our people know more? Are they performing better? […]
Aspiring managers let down by UK employers – research
Nearly 85% of young professionals aspire to be tomorrow’s managers, a survey commissioned by Investors in People reveals. In stark contrast, many respondents say their careers are restricted by current working environments. Only 52% of those surveyed are satisfied with career developments on offer and only 45% feel employers encourage them to gain promotion.Ruth Spellman, […]
Choosing a management development programme
David Towler, CEO of Cambridge Online Learning offers some advice on making the right management training choice for your business. The changing face of businessThe pressure is on for business. Increasing legislation, calls for transparency and the growing need for compliance with governmental bodies, lead to increasingly complex and busy lives for business leaders across […]
Senior directors feel too busy for training – survey
Many senior directors think that they are too busy to receive training, and over one third of directors don’t think training is relevant or necessary. Well that’s what their HR directors think they think, according to a survey by the Institute of Directors. However, although 43 per cent of HR directors felt that their senior […]
Can the UK manage? And what can management development do? Your views needed!
Management in the UK has had a bad press this year. It’s also changing in style, delivery and accreditation, often leaving training managers uncertain about what style of development programmes are appropriate for their needs.What do you think about management training? Is it difficult to promote, both to potential participants and to senior decision-makers? Is […]
Training Managers – share your views on management development!
In January we are running a special monthly feature on management and leadership development, and we want your views. What are the big challenges in management, and how do you meet them? Below are some sample questions which we’d like to send you to get your answers, but if you’d prefer just to express an […]
National Training Awards celebrate success
This year the National Training Awards recognised a great range of development, from Europe’s most productive car plant to a family run bakery that invented the Bakewell Tart.Charles Clarke MP, Secretary of State for Education and Skills, said “I congratulate this year’s Award winners. They have all demonstrated just how quality education and training can […]
Accelerating Performance – review
Title: Accelerating Performance – Powerful new techniques to develop peopleAuthor: Sunny Stout RostronPublisher: Kogan Page, 2002Paperback, 254ppISBN: 0749436425Buy this from the TrainingZONE – Blackwells bookshop.Titles have a lot to do with whether I read any particular book. For a trainer and coach, this title might seam appealing. I know that many readers of TrainingZONE make […]
What does the Pre-Budget Report do for skills training?
In the PBR, Gordon Brown has announced measures to boost current training initiatives. A new employer-led taskforce will be created to support the improvement and expansion of Modern Apprenticeships, and there is a new target to increase the participation of young people in post-16 education and training. There is more money for the pilot schemes […]
Can you afford your management team? – feature
Gail Brown, managing partner of ExecPlus, discusses the role of training and development in getting the best ROI possible from your management team. What is your management team costing you? Are you able to calculate the return you are getting from them? Recruiting or head-hunting senior managers is only the first step in making a […]
Workforce development investment pays off, finds aerospace industry research
A report by the Society of British Aerospace Companies has demonstrated that investing in workforce development brings benefits. A High Performance Work Organisation (HPWO), as here defined, comprises complementary sets of practices in human resources and employee relations. There is a close relationship between HPWO and financial performance. Companies high on the HPWO index in […]
Employers urged to do more for basic skills
The CBI and the TUC have released a new report, “Brushing up the basics”, on the basic skills challenge facing the UK. It states that one in five adults do not have the literacy or numeracy skills of most children starting secondary school.The basic skills difficulties of seven million adults are said to cost the […]
Implementing a training solution in the face of inadequate systems and procedures – opinion
Dave Green, senior consultant at Training for Advancement, offers a trainer’s perspective on the system failures that prevent organisations from making the most of development opportunities. Having spent many years working in a hard-nosed profit-focussed organisation, I have learnt that for any training intervention to be truly successful we must be able to prove we […]
Project managers want more management training, finds survey
According to a survey of project managers by Learning Tree International, almost 90% felt they would benefit from management training, in comparison to just 13% who stated that technical training would be beneficial to their role. The survey suggests a mismatch between the challenges faced and training given to project managers. More than half of […]
Non-executive directors need training in their roles
Research carried out by KPMG in the UK suggests that non-executive directors (NEDs) recognise that their knowledge is limited in certain areas, and that they are keen to receive more training and appraisal of their work. The survey showed that whilst NEDs felt confident in their level of knowledge in areas such as financial performance, […]
Keeping leadership on track – feature
This feature was contributed by Roy Davis, Head of Communications at SHL Group. There was a time when organisations could sleep soundly at night assured of the long-term loyalty of their senior managers and chief executives. However, the dynamics of the workplace are changing and today’s companies are running scared.Unlike management, leadership is a high-risk […]
A brief history of e-learning – feature
“A brief history of e-learning” was contributed by Brian Holley, Managing Director of Sherpa Integrated Learning Ltd. It all began with a dog and a pigeon – well, several of each actually. In the early twentieth century American psychologist J. B. Watson laid the foundations for a school of ‘behavioural’ psychology. His ideas were built […]
The art of closing – feature
This feature was contributed by Gavin Ingham of Performance Coaching International. One of the questions I often get asked as a sales coach by sales people, brokers and customer account/relationship managers alike is, “How do I close sales better? What closing techniques would you recommend?” In my experience, closing is one of the three most […]
Small Business Council recommends incentives for training
The Small Business Council has produced its second Annual Report, which includes some interesting reflections on national training policy. Ths Skills section opens with the declaration: “The current system is not working because the educators largely decide the type and quality of skills provision that is available. The Government needs to stimulate a demand for […]
Employers to get more say on training policy and management development
Adult Learning and Skills Minister Ivan Lewis has pledged that employes will get more control over moves to tackle skill shortages in their sectors, as part of the further expansion of Sector Skills Councils. Mr Lewis also praised the leadership shown by employers spearheading the five trailblazer Sector Skills Councils set up so far. Education […]
