Employee Training and Development Essay -- Human Resources Business Ma

Organisations attain competitive advantage through the utilization of skills and knowledge of their employees (Bach and Sisson 2000).According to Subedi (2006:90), the highest value for training as perceived by managers, supervisors and employees was the ‘need for performance improvement’. If this is true then why is it that organisations and individuals still do not invest in training? Studies show that despite the recognition that training offers an avenue for development of skills, enhancement of productivity, increase in individual and organisational performance (Pride et al 2009; Bulut and Culha 2010), it is still quite rare in practice (Lengermann 1996).While some organisations invest in training, others find it more practical to poach employees, subcontract or engage temporary lower skilled workers (Bach and Sisson 2000). Cost, fear of poaching, poorly designed training programs, inability to ascertain economic returns and measure effectiveness of training are recognized as some of the reasons why organisations and individuals do not invest in training (Bach and Sisson 2000; Lloyd 2002; Jameson 2000; Van den Bossche et al 2010). On the other hand, while individuals may acquire new skills in order to be better positioned in the labour market (Grugulis 2006), organisations invest in training to obtain control also known as monopsony power (Booth and Zoega 2000), achieve competitive advantage (Bach and Sisson 2000) and to gain employee commitment (Bulut and Culha 2010). This essay examines benefits of training and development and possible reasons to why organisations and individuals are reluctant to invest in training. It also looks at the two main commonly practised approaches to training in relation to how they influen... .../www.traintogain.gov.uk/Helping_Your_Business/ttgincontext/ (Accessed 9 Nov.2010). U.S Department of Labour (2009). Occupational Outlook Handbook 2009: An Up to Date Guide to Today’s Job Market, New York: Skyhorse Publishing Inc. pp. 60-65. UKCES: UK commission for employment and skills (2010). National Employer Skills Survey for England 2010: Key findings report. http://www.ukces.org.uk/upload/pdf/NESS%20Key%20findings%202009_2.pdf (Accessed 12 Nov. 2010). Van den Bossche, P., Segers, M., and Jansen, N., (2010). ‘Transfer of Training: The Role of Feedback in Supportive Social Networks’ International Journal of Training and Development, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 81-94. Wickramasinghe, V.M. (2006) ‘Training Objectives, Transfer, Validation and Evaluation: A Sri Lankan Study’. The International Journal of Training and Development, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 227-247.