Message from the Chief Executive
Life in the new global economy has not only changed the face of the pace of business it has altered the desired characteristics of the world's workforce.
Today's smartest organisations understand the need to mobilise resources quickly if they are to gain competitive advantage. Hence, they are beginning to recognise the vital role of skilled staff with transferable talents in achieving business success.
In this context, the training professional has become an essential human resource, dealing as much in culture change and motivation as transfer of hard skills. Their job is to help develop flexible, portable toolkits of skills that enable individuals and businesses to move at the required speed of change.
Thus the elusive Holy Grail has changed form. No longer a simple matter of specific skills transfer, training today needs to focus on a much higher goal - that of enabling the organisation to meet its business objectives.
Training implementation therefore needs not only to effect the transfer of high quality skills into the marketplace, but also to measure and monitor the impact of transferring those skills.
In this scenario, short-term measurement of ROI is no longer enough. Now, more than ever, organisations need to ensure they equip staff with an incremental skills set that delivers demonstrable business value and performance improvement in the long-term.
Quality professional standards and processes will support the rising tide of considered corporate learning. Today's training professionals must combine strategies for their own continual improvement with that of their business.
By uniting one with the other, training will become a true business enabler and a recognised profession.
Colin Steed FIIT, FRSAChief Executive
