Unlocking Human Resource Management Chapter 3

Learning and development: key points

• The competitiveness of a country largely depends on the skills and capabilities of its people

• Growth of the ‘knowledge economy’ requires a skilled workforce

• The number of low-skilled jobs will decrease in UK while need for degree level qualifications set to increase

Unlocking Human Resource Management Chapter 3

Learning and development:government initiatives

• National vocational qualifications (NVQs) were introduced in the 1980s to address the UK shortfall in skills in the workforce

• Investors in People (IiP) encouraged employers to invest in training and development

• Modern Apprenticeships introduced to try and plug the growing skills gap and provide an alternative to the academic route for young people

Learning and development:how people learn

• It is important to consider how people learn for training and development to be effective

• For effective learning to take place it is generally accepted that individuals need to go through Kolb’s (1974) learning cycle

• Honey and Mumford (1982) suggested people learn in different ways. This is an important consideration when designing training and development

Unlocking Human Resource Management Chapter 3

Learning and development:the training process

• Training needs must be identified for the training to be appropriate. This can be done at organisational, job or individual level

• A learning plan needs to be devised to meet the training needs identified

• Methods can be through learning on the job or by taking people away from work

• Finally the learning should be evaluated to be sure the training or development was worthwhile

Unlocking Human Resource Management Chapter 3

Unlocking Human Resource Management Chapter 3

Learning summary

By the end of this chapter you should:• Know the importance of investment in learning

and development• Have knowledge of the various government

initiatives introduced to encourage learning and development

• Understand how people learn and the importance of this for training and development to be effective

• Appreciate the stages involved in the training process