Training and development involves improving the effectiveness of organizations and the individuals and teams within them. Training may be viewed as being related to immediate changes in effectiveness via organized instruction, while development is related to the progress of longer-term organizational and employee goals. While training and development technically have differing definitions, the terms are often used interchangeably. Training and development have historically been topics within adult education and applied psychology, but have within the last two decades become closely associated with human resources management, talent management, human resources development, instructional design, human factors, and knowledge management. Skills training has taken on varying organizational forms across industrialized economies. Germany has an elaborate vocational training system, whereas the United States and the United Kingdom are considered to generally have weak ones.
History Aspects of training and development have been linked to ancient civilizations around the world. Early training-related articles appeared in journals marketed to enslavers in the Antebellum South and training approaches and philosophies were discussed extensively by Booker T. Washington. Early academic publishing related to training included a 1918 article in the Journal of Applied Psychology, which explored an undergraduate curriculum designed for applied psychologists. By the 1960s and 70s, the field began developing theories and conducting theory-based research since it was historically rooted in trial-and-error intervention research, and new training methods were developed, such as the use of computers, television, case studies, and role playing. The scope of training and development also expanded to include cross-cultural training, a focus on the development of the individual employee, and the use of new organization development literature to frame training programs. The 1980s focused on how employees received and implemented training programs, and encouraged the collection of data for evaluation purposes, particularly management training programs. The development piece of training and development became increasingly popular in the 90s, with employees more frequently being influenced by the concept of lifelong learning. It was in this decade that research revealing the impact and importance of fostering a training and development-positive culture was first conducted. The 21st century brought more research in topics such as team-training, such as cross-training, which emphasizes training in coworkers' responsibilities.
Training practice and methods Training and development encompasses three main activities: training, education, and development. Differing levels and types of development may be used depending on the roles of employees in an organisation. The "stakeholders" in training and development are categorized into several classes. The sponsors of training and development are senior managers, while line managers are responsible for coaching, providing resources, and managing performance. The clients of training and development are business planners, while the participants are those who undergo the processes. The facilitators are human resource management staff, and the providers are specialists in the field. Each of these groups has its own agenda and motivations, which sometimes conflict with those of others. Since the 2000s, training has become more trainee-focused, which allows those being trained more flexibility and active learning opportunities. These active learning techniques include exploratory/discovery learning, error management training, guided exploration, and mastery training. Typical projects in the field include executive and supervisory/management development, new employee orientation, professional skills training, technical/job training, customer-service training, sales-and-marketing training, and health-and-safety training. Training is particularly critical in high-reliability organizations, which rely on high safety standards to prevent catastrophic damage to employees, equipment, or the environment (e.g., nuclear power plants and operating rooms). The instructional systems design approach (often referred to as the ADDIE model) is often used for designing learning programs and used for instructional design, or the process of designing, developing, and delivering learning content. There are 5 phases in the ADDIE model:
Needs assessment: problem identification. training needs analysis, determination of audience determined, identification of stakeholder's needs and required resources Program design: mapping of learning intervention/implementation outline and evaluation methods Program development: delivery method, production of learning outcomes, quality evaluation of learning outcome, development of communication strategy, required technology, and assessment and evaluation tools Training delivery and implementation: participation in side-programs, training delivery, learning participation, and evaluation of business Evaluation of training: formal evaluation, including the evaluation of learning and potential points of improvement Many different training methods exist today, including both on- and off-the-job methods. Other training methods may include:
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
