More employees then in recent years are satisfied with training provision; a study by research consultancy ORC International shows that nearly two thirds of respondents, 62% gave the thumbs up to the training they had received, compared to just over half, 53% in 1999.
Workers in the retail and hi-tech sectors were poles apart in their views, however, demonstrating sectoral differences. A huge 70% of employees working in the retail sector said they were satisfied with training while just under half, 47% in the hi-tech sector said the same.
Investment in training sales assistants, says the report, demonstrates the importance placed by the industry on delivering quality customer service. While a downturn, budget constraints, shorter product cycles and changing technology were cited as reasons why workers in the sector were less happy with their experience of training.
The report, ‘Putting it in Perspective’ derives its data from a database representing the opinions of 1.4 million employees.
Commenting on these findings, Reed Training’s Simon Pridgeon said: “Training is now seen as a benefit and as an essential part of a reward package, rather than as a punishment or a remedial action for poor performance.
“This inevitably means that individuals are happier to attend courses because they no longer have a negative perception of training. I also think that satisfaction has increased because of the rising standards of both training materials and the trainers delivering them.”