Training Needs Assessment (TNA)

1. Training Needs Assessment (TNA)

2. Background information Civil Service Systems • Career based civil service system • Position based civil service system Different training systems • Pre-service training system • In-service training system

3. Training systems- background information (cont.) Different training systems: • Career based system: little regard to pre-service training and great regard to a continual process of training and retraining • Position based system: more attention to the level, content and style of education received prior to entry into the civil service. • Reliance on pre-service training runs the risk that ideas, skills and knowledge are not kept up to date. • In-service training systems traditionally take less notice of the original specialization of individuals’ prior training and education, more important is continual process of training.

4. Types of training Initial training - the acquisition of knowledge and development of skills of persons starting employment as civil servants • could be an obligatory component • trainees could be asked to pass a test at the end of the training • could consist of general programs and special programs tailored to meet the needs of a concrete position In-service training - the improvement of special professional knowledge and development of skills of a civil servant during tenure or when seeking promotion

5. Needs Assessment • In general Needs Assessment is a systematic exploration of the way local governments are functioning (organizational and individual performance) and the way they should be functioning • Identification of: • Priority target groups? • Most important needs of the target groups? • Adequate response to the needs- training approach; methods; facilities

6. Distinguishing training needs from other performance problems A training need exists when an employee lacks the knowledge or skill to perform an assigned task satisfactorily The simple questions to ask, to determine whether training need exist are following: • Problems and deficits: Are there problems which might be solved by training? • Opportunities: Could we improve the performance by taking advantage of training programs? • Mandated training: Are there internal or external forces dictating that training and development will take place (laws, policies, management decisions etc.) • Impending change: Are there (performance) problems which do not currently exist but are foreseen due to changes, such as new policies, laws, rules and regulations, procedures, equipment, changes in organization of the work etc?

7. Training Needs Assessment- process Step 1: Preparatory work Step 2. Perform a “gap” analysis Step3. Identify priorities and importance Step 4. Identify causes of performance problems and/or opportunities Step 5. Identify possible solutions

8. Step 1: Preparatory work • Legal framework? • Existing training strategy? • Objectives of training? • Existing training institutions? • Demand-driven or donor-driven? • Previous training experiences? • Approach to the delivery of training (training provider and training facilitator?) • Funding of civil servants training?

9. Step 2. Perform a “gap” analysis Current situation: determine the current state of skills, knowledge, and abilities of the target groups (e.g. current and/or future employees) Desired situation: identify the desired or necessary conditions for the target groups (organizational and personal success) Gap analysis: Compare the current situation against desired or necessary situation and identify the needs, purposes, and objectives of the training

10. Step3. Identify priorities and importance • Produced a large list of needs (wishes) for training • Examine training needs in view of their importance to local governments (organizational goals, service delivery, etc) target groups (realities and constraints). • Prioritize among identified needs

11. Step 4. Identify causes of performance problems and/or opportunities Identify specific problem areas and opportunities and determine if training is the appropriate solution, and if it will be cost-effective (questions: are the target groups doing their jobs effectively? do they know how to do their jobs?...) Organization development activities may provide solutions when the problem is not based on a lack of knowledge and is primarily associated with changes, motivation, work organization, etc. These interventions might include strategic planning, organization restructuring, performance management and/or effective team building.

12. Step 5. Identify possible solutions Based on the identified problems prepare comprehensive report with recommendations • Suggest training areas (including suggested list of training topics, if possible to identify) • Include new policies, laws, approaches develop • Suggested training areas or programs • Other recommendations

13. TNA exercise Use multiple methods of Needs Assessment. To get a true picture, don't rely on one method but on many sources and viewpoints. There are several basic Needs Assessment techniques. Use a combination of some of these, as appropriate: • exploratory meetings • analysis of existing written materials, documentation and available data, previous surveys and studies, review of relevant literature • questionnaires • interviews • focus groups • key informant (consultation with persons in key positions, and/or with specific knowledge) • direct observation • tests • performance assessment