Human resource development

Introduction

Human resource or employees are the most dynamic and usually the most expensive of all the organisation‘s resources. They need to be supported and nurtured if they are to achieve their full potential, both for themselves and for the organisation. As a manager/administrator one is responsible for the performance of all of his/her staff and he/she should be actively involved in the process of identifying and attempting to satisfy their training needs. However, as Torrington et al. (2005) rightly argue, any success in human resource development owes much to the extent to which such success is linked with corporate strategy. At the end of this topic learners should be able to:

· Appreciate the role of training in job performance specifically with regards to the following.

· Describe the training needs assessment process.

· Choose appropriate training and development methods for your staff.

· Appreciate the role of management in career development.

Education, training and development

A frequently asked question is ‘What is the difference between training and development or between education and training?’ Usually the difference is based on the theoretical paradigm one wishes to use to justify for training or education (Mankin 2009). For example, in human capital theory Becker (1964) propounds that although education and training are not the same in terms of scope and strategy used both help organisations to derive economic value from employees as a result of knowledge, skills and experience. What makes the two concepts different can be observed from the following definitions and descriptions.

Education

This is basic instruction in knowledge and skills designed to enable people to make the most of life in general. It is personal, broadly based and tends to be classroom based and non-participatory. The instruction provided in schools to the population as a whole is usually what is meant by education (Holton & Yamkovenko 2008). Therefore, education tends to focus on the acquisition of knowledge.

Training

Dessler (2005) defines training as methods used to give employees skills they need to perform their jobs. Therefore, training implies preparing an employee for an occupation or specific skills. In this case, it has to be narrow in its focus and be for the job, rather than personally oriented.

Training is usually provided to adults and is aimed at producing an improvement in performance at work, by addressing weaknesses in knowledge, skills, or attitudes. It tends to be more practically focussed and can take place in a variety of environments and concerned with the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Development

Usually education refers to the broadest view of knowledge and skills acquisition (Mankin 2009). It is more career-orientated than job-oriented and is concerned with the longer term development and potential of the individual. Managers look at employees as adaptable resources with a variety of skills and places within the organisation and are concerned with giving the individual the right mix of skills, experiences and contacts to enable them to achieve their full potential. Education tends to be a matter for the community and government to deal with. Training and development are traditionally the matters for the concern of individual organisations based on their specific needs. However, there are overlaps where the government intervenes to provide support for training sections of the population in certain widely needed skills. For example, skills enhancement courses for the long-term unemployed in developed countries to re-train them for new industries or needs.

Rationale for training

The best way to answer the question why organisations should train people is to answer the question what will happen if they are not well trained. Training becomes important if there are deficiencies that should be addressed through training, or if there are changes in the organisation which have to be put in place by having well trained employees.

Training is required if there is a change in technology, working conditions, products, inadequate performance, shortage of staff. Training has many advantages for the individual, the department and the organisation because it is expected to provide a skilled pool of human resources, improvement of existing skills, an increase in knowledge and experience of employees, improve employees’ motivation, job performance, customer service, and personal growth and opportunity for career development.