Workforce Training Newsletter

Workforce Training

Your weekly view of the latest news, trends and tools

http://www.workforce.com/section/16/index.html#workforcetraining


Sample Issue:

CAREER DEVELOPMENT Task Force Training Develops New Leaders, Solves Real Business Issues and Helps Cut Costs Experts say assigning up-and-coming talent to task forces is less expensive than sending them to outside leadership courses, and that leadership candidates can learn more by working on a company’s real-life business problems than they would from case studies or role-playing. To make task force assignments most effective as a development tool, companies should offer coaching and debriefing to ensure that the right lessons are reinforced. Read more about training using task forces. Also: Warming Up for Leadership Luxottica Group: Optimas Award Winner for Managing Change Creating Tomorrow’s Workforce: Managing and Developing the Talent Pool

PRACTICAL APPROACHES Closing the Skills Gap Companies like Caterpillar and San Antonio’s University Health System are examples of how organizations are using training and development programs to bridge the space between their employees’ skills and their organization’s needs. Read more about closing the skills gap. Also: Sun Healthcare Group: Optimas Award Winner for Vision Amid Calls to Bolster U.S. Innovation, Experts Lament Paucity of Basic Math Skills Your Co-Worker, Your Teacher Dear Workforce: How Do I Choose the Best Method for Retraining an Entrenched Workforce? View the skills gap report from the American Society for Training & Development (Acrobat reader required)

NEWS AND EVENTS Quick Takes Corporate Trainers Pressed for Time: Companies are anxious to minimize the amount of time that employees spend in training that takes them away from their jobs. Click here to read more. Corporate Training Administration Takes a Budget Bite: Nearly 15 percent of survey participants said the admin cost—between 20 percent and 50 percent of training budgets—was too high. Click here to read more. Shoring Up Workers’ Skills: Under a British government plan, eligible state employees would receive training in basic skills, plus have the opportunity to earn qualifications leading to higher pay grades, according to Britain’s Government Skills sector. Click here to read more. Tops in Executive Education: The Financial Times’ annual list includes U.S. and European schools. No surprise: Harvard leads the field. Click here to read more. Thomson’s Career and Education Business Sold: The Thomson Corp. assets being acquired include the brands and businesses of Wadsworth, Delmar Learning, Gale, Heinle, Brooks/Cole and South-Western. Click here to read more.

DISCUSSION Policies on Training Assessments Posted in the Training & Organizational Development Forum: A reader writes: “I am developing a policy for employees who do not successfully complete training assessments. Continued employment is based on successful completion of the training programs and assessments. I am looking for some best practices on how to make sure that legal bases are covered with the assessments and training objectives when it comes time to release an employee who does not pass an assessment during the training course.”" Join the discussion.

METRICS LEARNING INVESTMENTS Average expenditure as a percentage of payroll (without benefits and taxes) 1999 3.20% 2000 3.37 2001 2.85 2002 2.47 2003 2.05 2004 2.20 2005 2.20 2006* 2.57 *Projected Average expenditure per employee (U.S. dollars) 1999 $1,307 2000 1,381 2001 1,509, 2002 1,366 2003 1,299 2004 1,368 2005 1,424 2006* 1,435 *Projected Note: Survey of 22 large global companies. Source: American Society for Training & Development, 2006 State of the Industry