L&D practitioners responsible for the strategic provision of learning and development to their organisation. Outsourced and/or externally-based consultants who want to learn the skills and knowledge required to operate as a business partner.

L&D can be a powerful strategic function making a major contribution to an organisation’s growth and success. To fulfil this role it is crucial that L&D practitioners develop business partnering skills and gain credibility and acceptance with other senior managers operating at strategic levels within the business.

To be successful the L&D team must be able to establish, manage and evaluate a costeffective, value-adding service suitable for meeting business needs. And to be effective performers L&D specialists must be holistic in their approach and integrate their own practices alongside other business policies and practices in the organisation.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• explain the role of ‘business partner’ and the potential contribution to an organisation
• position L&D in relation to the strategy of an organisation
• adopt strategic working practices
• contribute to the development of L&D strategy and policy
• select appropriate ways of implementing L&D processes and practices
• take account of a range of contractual issues including internal versus external provision and service level agreements.