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Assessing Training Needs. Based on materials developed by The Centre for Development and Population Activities (www.cedpa.org). Learning objectives. By the end of this unit participants will be able to: explain how needs assessment helps in development of a training event
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Assessing Training Needs Based on materials developed by The Centre for Development and Population Activities (www.cedpa.org)
Learning objectives • By the end of this unit participants will be able to: • explain how needs assessment helps in development of a training event • list the steps for conducting a needs assessment • identify the training needs of a specific group
Question? • Have you ever been in a situation where • the facilitator spent a lot of time covering material that you already knew? • the material was far more in-depth or complicated than you needed? • How did this make you feel? • How did this affect the group’s morale?
So, it is important to carry out a training needs assessment before undertaking training
Training can help to: Increase knowledge Improve skills Support individuals to motivate and develop attitudes Training can’t: Overcome lack of appropriate equipment or facilities Improve problems caused by poor policies or procedures Is training the right solution?
“Solutions to problems are like keys in locks; they don’t work if they don’t fit, and if the solutions aren’t the right ones, the problem doesn’t get solved” (Mager and Pipe 1970)
How could you assess needs? • Questionnaires/surveys • Observation • Interviews • Consult key stakeholders • Look at records and reports • Read job description
Case study • Split into groups of 5 - 6 people • Read the case study + task description • Task 1: 15 minutes • Task 2: 15 minutes • Report back: 10 minutes • Whole group to identify and agree priority training areas for the case study trainees • Whole group to identify the steps taken to determine training needs in this exercise
Reflection on case study • Was it easy or difficult to determine training needs? • What might have made it easier to identify needs? • What needs, if any, cannot be met by training?
Conclusions • How do you think this exercise might be useful to you when you design a training session? • Do you feel confident about conducting a needs assessment for workshops in the future? • What part do you think will be most difficult? • What part do you think will be the most useful?
Further reading • Brief overview of training process • www.lboro.ac.uk/well/resources/technical-briefs/53-training.pdf • Conducting a training needs assessment by Jeanette Swist • http://www.hr-arm.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/training.pdf • A manual for media trainers: a learner centred approach • www.unesco.org/webworld/publications/media_trainers/manual.pdf