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CIPD survey looks at employee attitudes to training

'Who learns at work?', a survey of employees by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), finds that almost four in five (79%) respondents say their employer offers enough training opportunities and 94% of respondents who have undertaken training in the past 12 months believe the training they received has helped them do their job better.

However some staff still believe they are not being given enough training opportunities (21%). And the research shows that those who already have an academic qualification, or have already received training, are most likely to get further training. It seems the more learning an individual undergoes the more confident they are in requesting further opportunities and one of the groups who received the most training are those with a degree.

The research involved interviews with 750 people who had participated in a training activity at work in the past 12 months. It examined whether enough training was available, if it was relevant and what the preferred methods of training are.

Victoria Gill, CIPD Learning Training and Development Adviser, said, "Although it is good to see more staff taking responsibility for their own development, employers need to ensure training opportunities are available and encouraged among all levels of staff, not just those who already hold academic qualifications, or who have the confidence to request training. This may run the risk of creating an imbalance among staff and a training gap."

‘Who learns at work?’ also concluded that the role of the line manager is critical to training and development. Line managers were responsible for over half (51%) of employee discussions concerning the success and evaluation of training. Also, 45% of respondents said their line manager initiated their most recent training, but only one in six employees (17%) said they had initiated training themselves.

These figures are supported by CIPD research amongst training professionals carried out last year. Training and development 2004, found that 60% of training was initiated by the HR/training department. It also reported that 94% of training and development practitioners agreed employees should take more responsibility for their own learning and development.

"These results confirm the shift from centralised training to a learning culture. Increasingly front-line staff and their immediate managers are taking responsibility for building capacity and broadening the skills base of UK organisations," said Gill.

Other figures from the survey show:

• Those most likely to receive training are those in companies with 500+ employees, those working full-time and those with a degree.
• Being shown how to do things and then practising them was the preferred method of training (54%), the least appealing methods are reading books/ articles and watching videos.
• Those working in small businesses are less likely to receive training than those in larger organisations or in the public sector.

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