What might a future training establishment look like - lloyddavis/ckop GitHub Wiki

Few would argue, particularly those engaged in the delivery of education, that the world is changing. The global financial crisis of 2007, acute Public spending constraints, increased and justifiable Public scrutiny, the imposition of legislative regulations, and heightened competition amongst providers have inexorably increased the pressure on traditional 'training establishments' to evolve.

Part of that response has been the introduction of alternative methods for the transfer of knowledge and skills, including Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), coaching, on the job training, virtual classrooms and webinars, e-learning, and mentoring. Each of these brings their own challenges, particularly assessment, validation and quality assurance. Some might even consider that the traditional Systematic Training Model (Session One) focuses too much on the classroom, and delivery of a ‘training solution’. A clearer distinction might therefore be made between training and learning: training is defined as “an instructor-led, content-based intervention, leading to desired changes in behaviour” (CIPD, 2004). Training “might be seen as a ‘reactionary tool or a ‘sticking plaster rather than as a proactive tool for organisational development” (CIPD, 2015), and is only one ‘intervention’ in the acquisition of knowledge and skills.

Any move away from traditional teaching establishments brings its own challenges however, and “learner motivation becomes critical” (Sloman, 2010). Not such a challenge in tertiary education perhaps, but for many Public Sector training establishments, responsibility for learning and development is often a condition of career progressioin, and considered the responsibility of the organisation. Any new learning activity introduced to improve the knowledge and skills of employees will therefore only ever receive support if the learner is motivated and feels capable of undertaking them. Any efforts to 'professionalise' a workforce, might also heighten the differences between those 'specialists', mandated to maintain a 'professional edge' by law, a governing body or an associated professional institute, such as electricians, and others, such as healthcare leaders and managers, for whom their is no single 'standard of excellence'.

So what might a 'training establishment' look like in future, and how might we maintain standards of excellence.