TWI Knowledge Summary

Training and development of individuals

By Richard Walker

In a general sense, training may be considered to be a means of upgrading an individual's skills through a programme of instruction. Indeed, training of one form or another plays an important role in an individual's development. It may be related to formal education (from nursery school through to university or college), to Continuous Professional Development (CPD) after completion of formal education, to informal associations (play groups, Scouts, Guides, Youth Groups, sports associations) or to personal interest groups (hobbies and pastimes), and so on.

In this document, training is looked at more specifically in terms of the needs of industry and commerce. The following issues are considered:

Why training is carried out
How training is carried out
Why a training provider may be selected
What will training look like in the future

Why training is carried out

There is a variety of reasons why an employer or employee may decide to follow a training programme. Some of the major reasons include gaining a competitive edge, improving personal skills, satisfying legislation or code requirements, achieving individual reward and gaining recognition (e.g. Investor in People).

These general objectives of training can be broken down into a series of more specific aims:

Gaining a competitive edge -

improving quality of staff
improving quality of product
reducing operating costs
opening new markets, etc

Improving personal skills -

career-path development
staff multiskilling and flexibility
obtaining recognised qualifications
developing management techniques
Continuous Professional Development (CPD), etc

Satisfying legislation or code requirements -

Health, Safety & Environmental requirements
European Pressure Equipment Directives
Welding Quality standards (EN 729)
Welding Coordination (EN719), etc

Achieving individual reward -

career progression within company or industry
financial gain
increased job satisfaction, etc

Gaining recognition (Investor in People) -

team building
staff motivation
underpinning corporate values and image, etc

How training is carried out

The majority of people are familiar with the most common method of instruction (as practised in school, colleges and even universities), the so-called 'chalk-and-talk' delivery mode of training. Today, this approach is changing so that there is more active involvement of participants which is shown to produce better results.

While there are many recognised ways of conducting training sessions, the better known are listed below. For any particular programme, a number of these approaches are likely to be used.

conventional teaching mode (chalk-and-talk)
practical demonstrations
hands-on practical sessions
syndicate sessions
tutorials
case studies
problem solving
course assessments
distance learning/open learning
computer-based training
web-based training

Why a training provider may be selected

Once the need for training has been established, a provider has to be selected. In some areas, for example in management training, there are so many providers available that a decision on the most appropriate organisation may be no easy task. Whilst for technical training, the number of providers may be significantly lower, the same criteria for selection are no less important. These may include consideration of such points as:

quality of product and staff (reputation)
range and diversity of programmes
convenience of programme (venue & timing)
availability of recognised certification
provision of a training needs analysis
method and quality of delivery
ISO 9001 recognition, i.e. satisfying an approved quality assurance standard
cost of programmes
effectiveness of marketing
quality of training facilities
level of administration & support (customer care)
residential & recreational facilities

What will training look like in the future?

A quick scan of the lists above indicates that training, whilst perhaps being more complex than at first thought, is clearly linked to customer needs. This has become increasingly important in recent years where, in addition to achieving training objectives, customers place increasing emphasis on convenience, cost and accessibility.

In the very near future, people will want to learn or be trained:

when they want
where they want
how they want
for as long as they want
in their own environment
at a pace that suits them
in a way that saves costs
in a broader range of topics
where they are in control

It is probable that these key requirements will not be achieved by conventional training methods alone. Instead, web-based training using personal computers to access information through the Internet (or, in larger organisations which undertake their own programmes, via their intranets) will become a major delivery mechanism, supplemented by more conventional means such as face-to-face tutorials, practical skill development sessions, demonstrations, etc.

At present, TWI Training and Examination Services programmes (which provide a range of technical training courses for industry ranging from practical welder training, through inspector level programmes and eventually can lead to International Welding Engineer qualifications) tend to use traditional training methods. However, work is underway within TWI to develop a range of web-based courses over the next few years.

Further information on training and examination services available from TWI can be found via the links below:

TWI Training and examination services: training programmes

Training and approval of welders - best practice in action

Qualification and certification for individuals