A Modern Orientation to Training

What are the characteristics of training that are relevant for today and tomorrow? Essentially, according to the experts, the focus should be on:

• The learner rather than the trainer;
• People being seen as people rather than as human resources;
• Organisational goals and individual needs rather than organisational goals alone;
• Opportunities for all rather than an elitist approach;
• A process of needs analysis, preparation of outcomes, development of methodology, and implementation and evaluation of programmes, with feedback loops, rather than off-the-shelf packages;
• Facilitation and negotiation rather than dictation and obligation;
• Results and process rather than results or process alone;
• Optimisation rather than maximisation of quality;
• Technology as a means to an end – not the end itself;
• Formal training as just one method and not the only method for addressing performance problems;
• Individuals and teams rather than individuals alone;
• Open rather than closed learning;
• Holism rather than reductionism;
• Lifelong learning and short-term needs rather than short-term needs alone;
• Collaboration rather than competition; and
• Employability rather than employment.

Contributed by Dave Hornblow, December 2016