In April 2004 the CIPD embarked on a important new research project Helping people learn which considered how we can move from a strategy based on the delivery of training to one based on support for learning.
To assist and support this project we created, in November 2005, a virtual trainers network that attracted over 3000 members. It was established to explore the role of training and learning in today’s service-led and knowledge-driven economy. The network considered the changing context in which learning, training and development take place and the alignment of learning to strategic priorities, participating in a series of online polls and designated discussion threads.
Over the three year period from November 2005–8 the CIPD also published significant research on Learning and the Line: The role of line managers in training, learning and development and Value of Learning: From return on investment to return on expectation, as well as three editions of our annual learning and development survey report and accompanying Reflections essays.
The conclusions and insights from this research have been brought together in a Research Insight which can be accessed from the link below
The Research Insight
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offers a new perspective on the way in which learning, training and development can contribute to organisational objectives
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presents a view of the role of the learning, training and development professional, and the mind-set and approach required to do their job effectively
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identifies some key barriers and enablers that surround the planning, implementation and monitoring of training and learning.
A main conclusion from this extended project was that the role of the trainer in a service-led knowledge driven economy is best described as:
"supporting, accelerating and directing learning interventions that meet organisational needs and are appropriate to the learner and the context"
Other pages in this section of the web include a summary of the initial 2005 Helping People Learn research report, an extensive library of organisational case studies assembled over the period, and a summary of both the discussion threads and polls.
For further details of this project contact research@cipd.co.uk