The future’s bright – the future’s online…

Online learning returns as training providers and HR acknowledge past limitations writes Dell Education Services’ Martin Hill.         In the late 90s the rise of out-of-classroom, electronically-supported learning and teaching, commonly known as elearning was seen as the future of training. For IT managers stuck with ineffective, out-of-date IT infrastructure, it was […]

Earned value: cost-effective e-learning

How can businesses ensure efficiency in elearning and maintain employee development? Paul Deed examines the role that earned value can play in cost-effective employee training to ensure business success.     Earned value has been used to manage and measure projects of varying size and scope for many decades. It began to gain popularity in […]

New skills strategy will cost employers

Under the coalition government’s new skills strategy, large employers will have to cover the full cost of basic skills training for staff aged 24 and over from 2013-2014, while small-to-medium business will be expected to pay half. They may also all be asked to pay training levies.  The move follows the government’s decision to cut […]

Pub academy, have Tennent’s staff got the pint factor?

Tennet’s Lager has invested £1 million in Scotland’s first pub academy to equip staff with the necessary skills to work in the hospitality industry.  The academy will be based in Glasgow at the company’s Wellpark Brewery and a derelict building has been newly converted to include a bar, beer cellar and kitchen in order to […]

Shift in focus in training market

The global managed learning market is about to be hit by consolidation as the focus moves from improving the quality of clients’ service provision to demand planning, a provider has warned.  According to AI Bird, learning consultancy director at KnowledgePool, while customers initially hired external specialists to buy and administer their training in order to […]

Video: Marcus Buckingham, the strengths finder

Marcus Buckingham, developer of the Gallup Strengthsfinder system, on why we should be developing our strengths rather than focusing on weaknesses. Charlie Duff met Marcus at a Benchmark for Business event in Manchester. The next event is taking place in London on 17 November 2010. Titled Exceptional Talent, Extraordinary Teams, it will feature Sir Ken […]

Measuring the effectiveness and gain of training

John Pope asks the tough questions and examines the tangible measurements of training. There have been several articles on measuring the gain from training and development and on the need to maintain investment in training. I also see articles showing fantastic financial benefits. Some of those claims for the benefits of training lead me to […]

Poor training retention costs UK millions

Regulated UK firms are wasting millions of pounds on statutory risk training by failing to ensure that workers put into practice what they have learned in the classroom.  Jane Massy, UK partner at the Return on Investment Institute and chief executive of training evaluation consultancy abdi, warned that many companies operating in regulated sectors ranging […]

Hilton sets up Chef Apprenticeship Academy

An international hotel chain has set up a Chef Apprenticeship Academy, which will fully fund each place and provide participants with a salary during the programme.  The Academy, which will be opened by Hilton Worldwide early next month, is to take on 20 apprentices who will undertake a combination of college-based courses and on-the-job training […]

Institute of Directors slates Time to Train

‘Spectacularly bad’ ‘Time to Train’ regulations, which are unnecessary, poorly thought-through and shoddily designed, should be scrapped before they cause any further harm, the Institute of Directors has warned.   The warning came only days after a five-week consultation, launched by Skills Minister John Hayes last month over the future of the legislation, closed. The […]

More cuts in L&D expected

Learning and development managers may be over-optimistic about their ability to cope with expected budget and staff cuts over the next six months, a new report has warned.  The study entitled the ‘UK Learning Trends Index’, the first in a regular six-month survey to be undertaken by online learning content provider GoodPractice and industry training […]

Unleash your strengths with Marcus Buckingham

Help yourself and your employees think about your strengths rather than focus on your weaknesses with these mind-opening tests from Marcus Buckingham. These exercises are simple ones which you can do yourself and send to others as the first steps in understanding and developing your strengths. Who’s on your board? Draw an oval on a […]

Is there really time to train?

Christopher Fisher examines the scope and impact of the recently introduced right to request time off for training.   On 6 April 2010, new regulations came into force giving employees the right to request time off for training. Currently, the right applies only to businesses with 250 or more employees, but from April 2011, it […]

US and European brain drain on horizon

Companies in China, Taiwan and India are leading the world in their desire to expand their workforces, but with employers across the US and Europe remaining reluctant to do so, the situation raises the unpleasant prospect of a brain drain. According to the ‘Employment Outlook Report’, which is based on a survey of 61,000 companies […]

Tea workers expected to train cheaper replacements

Staff who are due to lose their jobs at an iconic British tea company have reacted angrily to demands that they train foreign workers scheduled to replace them next year.   Twinings’ bosses announced last November that they intended to close the company’s factory in North Shields with the loss of 263 jobs. The aim was […]

Training not supporting business objectives

While a huge 86% of organisations have introduced coaching or mentoring programmes, nearly two thirds fail to directly support corporate objectives but focus instead on developing individual talents.  To make matters worse, 15% of employers have put no measurements in place to assess the outcomes of their coaching and mentoring initiatives. These are the findings […]

Bosses confident growth is around the corner: podcast

Is growth in business or hiring just around the corner? A study of European business leaders has revealed nearly 40% are planning to invest in existing talent, while a quarter claim they will invest in training as this long awaited confidence makes a welcome return to the market with over half of all companies across […]

21st century training: get better value

Trimming skills budgets might seem like a regressive move, but it might be the catalyst needed to prepare staff training for the demands of the 21st century, says Jane Scott Paul, CEO, Association Accounting Technicians. The economic turbulence over the past few years has led to training budgets being trimmed across the board. Consequently there […]

A letter to L&D: HR is your BFF

Nigel Paine explains why trainers need to recognise HR as their best friend in order to achieve their aims in this letter to L&D. It is almost exactly five years since ‘Fast Company’ – the US-based business magazine – published its seminal article by Keith Hammonds, its deputy editor, called: ‘Why we hate HR.’ He […]

Over 2/3 of organisations fail to evaluate training

In order to boost the performance of their coaching initiatives, organisations need to introduce well-thought through programmes and evaluation processes that are aligned with business strategy.  According to the ‘2010 Learning and Development’ survey undertaken by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), however, more than two thirds of organisations currently fail to evaluate […]