Training
Needs Assessments
Training needs assessment is a systematic inquiry of
training needs within an organization for the purposes of identifying
priorities and making decisions, and allocating finite resources in a manner
consistent with identified program goals and objectives. Though beginning with
training as the desired solution, it has been argued, diminishes the value of
the needs assessment, the popularity of the term "training needs
assessment" has made it part of the training and adult learning lexicon.
There are three levels of a training needs assessment:
Organizational
Assessment
evaluates the level of organizational performance. An assessment of this type
will determine the skills, knowledge, and ability needs of an agency. It also
identifies what is required to alleviate the problems and weaknesses of the
agency as well as to enhance strengths and competencies. Organizational assessment
takes into consideration factors such as changing demographics, political
trends, technology, and the economy.
Occupational Assessment
examines the skills, knowledge, and abilities required for affected
occupational groups. Occupational assessment identifies how and which
occupational discrepancies or gaps exist, as well as examining new ways to do
work that could fix those discrepancies or gaps.
Individual
Assessment analyzes how well an individual employee is doing a job
and determines the individual's capacity to do new or different work.
Individual assessment provides information on which employees need training and
what kind.
The benefits of training needs assessments
are:
- Puts training needs in context
of organizational needs (business drivers)
- Validates and/or augments
sponsor’s ideas about the need for training
- Ensures training design will
respond to need
- Identifies non-training issues
influencing performance
- Ensures survival of training
function
- Establishes foundation for
post-training evaluation
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