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 […]
Public speaking: ‘daunting but essential’
According to research by The Aziz Corporation, 67 per cent of company directors find public speaking their most daunting business activity. 45 per cent find addressing a large conference difficult, compared to 26 per cent who are bothered by reviewing financial data and 15 per cent preparing business plans. However, despite this widespread fear of […]
WOLCE preview
This year, WOLCE’s 10th anniversary sees a change of name, reflecting a change to encompass all channels of professional learning: it’s now the World of Learning Conference and Exhibition. The event comprises a two-day conference and exhibition with an evening Gala Dinner Ceremony (after dinner speech by England Rugby Captain, Will Carling), for this year’s […]
Management training is inadequate and suffers from poor attendance, finds survey
According to a survey by learning innovator Cambridge Online Learning, UK businesses are wasting up to 20% of their training budgets due to employees failing to attend designated business courses. Over half of those organisations who calculated wastage admitted to losses (which could total somewhere between £217m and £871m per year), and only a fifth […]
Demand for unskilled workers falls
The CBI and Mercer Human Resource Consulting annual survey of employment trends shows 29 per cent of firms will recruit fewer people without qualifications over the next three years. But demand for well-qualified people will grow, with 47 per cent of firms expecting to take on more graduates.According to government data, the UK has around […]
Why management training isn’t working
Gail Brown, the managing partner of ExecPlus, looks at the current state of management training. What was your last management training course like? Let me guess… you got given a case study, you took on the roles of the characters (with the regulation embarrassed giggling and shuffling), the rest of your group pulled you to […]
