Training is the teaching of vocational or practical and relates to specific useful skills.

It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at technical colleges or polytechnics. Today it is often referred to as professional development. Training is the means the planned and organized activity of a consultant to impart skills, techniques and methodologies to employers and their employees to assist them in establishing and maintaining employment and a place of employment which is safe and healthful. Training is the systematic process of developing knowledge, skills, and attitudes for current or future jobs. Training refers to seminars or workshops conducted for a private client, usually a corporation, specifically for a group of its employees. Most corporate training seminars are one or two days. Training is the systematic development of attitudes, knowledge and skills, behavioral pattern required by an individual in order to perform adequately a given task or job between actual and required human performance at work forms the basic of the need.

Process of training: * Training needs identification and setting of objectives by the organization * Planning, design and preparation of the training programmes against the objectives * Pre-course identification of people with needs and completion of the preparation required by the training program * Provision of the agreed training programmes * Pre-course briefing meeting between learner and line manager * Pre-course or start of program identification of learners' existing knowledge, skills and attitudes Interim validation as programme proceeds * Assessment of terminal knowledge, skills, etc., and completion of perceptions/change assessment Completion of end-of-programme reactionnaire * Completion of end-of-programme Learning Questionnaire or Key Objectives Learning Questionnaire * Completion of Action Plan * Post-course debriefing meeting between learner and line manager * Line manager observation of implementation progress * Review meetings to discuss progress of implementation * Final implementation review meeting

What is training evaluation? Enumerate the process of evaluation of training effectiveness using kirk Patrick model. Most training takes place in an organizational setting, typically in support of skill and knowledge requirements originating in the workplace.

we can identify five basic points at which we might take measurements, conduct assessments, or reach judgments. o Before Training o During Training o After Training or Before Entry (Reentry) o In The Workplace o Upon Exiting The Workplace

The four elements of Kirkpatrick's framework are defined below using Kirkpatrick's original definitions.

In 1975, Donald Kirkpatrick first presented a four-level model of evaluation that has become a classic in the industry:

Level

What the Level Measures Was the employee satisfied with the workplace education and did employee complete it? What did the employee learn from the workplace education program? How did the workplace education program affect employee performance? Did improvements in employee performance

Response

Learning

Performance

Results

attributable to workplace education affect organizational performance?

Each successive level of evaluation builds upon the evaluations of the previous level. Each successive level of evaluation adds precision to the measure of effectiveness but requires more time consuming analysis and increased costs.

Level One: Evaluate Reaction This level measures how participants in a training program react to the training. Every program should at least be evaluated at this level to answer questions regarding the learners' perceptions and improve training. This level gains knowledge about whether the participants liked the training and if it was relevant to their work. These are sometimes called smile sheets or happy sheets because in their simplest form they measure how well trainees liked the training. However, this type of evaluation can reveal valuable data if the questions asked are more complex. Negative reactions reduce the possibility of learning. Evaluation tools: Program evaluation sheets Face-to-face interviews Participant comments throughout the training Ability of the course to maintain interest Amount and appropriateness of interactive exercises Ease of navigation in Web-based and computer-based training Participants' perceived value and transferability to the workplace

Level Two: Evaluate Learning / Results Level Two in the Kirkpatrick model measures learning results. In other words, did the trainees actually learn the knowledge, skills, and attitudes the program was supposed to teach? To show achievement, have trainees complete a pre-test and post-test, making sure that test items or questions are truly written to the learning objectives. By summarizing the scores of all trainees, trainers can accurately see the impact that the training intervention had. This type of evaluation is not as widely conducted as Level One, but is still very common. Level 2 evaluations are conducted before training (pre-test) and after training (post-test) to assess the amount of learning that has occurred due to a training program. Level 2 evaluations assess the extent learners have advanced in knowledge, skills or attitude. Level 2 evaluation methods range from self-assessment to team assessment to informal to formal assessment.

Evaluation tools: Individual pre- and post-training tests for comparisons Assessment of action based learning such as work-based projects and role-plays Observations and feedback by peers, managers and instructors

Level Three: Behavior / Performance in the Workplace Trainees typically score well on post-tests, but the real question is whether or not any of the new knowledge and skills are retained and transferred back on the job. Level Three evaluations attempt to answer whether or not trainees' behaviors actually change as a result of new learning. This evaluation is typically performed three to six months after training. The evaluator would ask questions such as "Are the newly acquired knowledge, skills or attitude being used in the environment of the learner"? This evaluation represents the truest assessment of a program's effectiveness but is costly. It is often impossible to predict when changes in behavior will occur. Careful planning decisions are needed for this level of evaluation in terms of when to evaluate, how to evaluate and how often to evaluate. Evaluation questions: Did the trainees put their learning into effect when back on the job? Were the relevant skills and knowledge used Was there noticeable and measurable change in the activity and performance of the trainees when back in their roles? Was the change in behavior and new level of knowledge sustained? Would the trainee be able to transfer their learning to another person? Is the trainee aware of their change in behavior, knowledge, skill level? Did the representative open each telephone customer dialog using his or her name and department? Was the representative able to describe to you and categorize the customer's objections as either misinformation or valid? Did the representative use the appropriate model answer in response to each objection? Did the representative close each sales call with a request for purchase? If the prospect did not make a purchase, did the representative end the call with specific future action steps? Did the representative complete call history records that include summaries of who, what, where, when, and why?

Evaluation tools: Individual pre- and post-training tests or surveys Face-to-face interviews Observations and feedback from others Focus groups to gather information and share knowledge

Level Four: Business Results The only scientific way to isolate training as a variable would be to isolate a representative control group within the larger trainee population, and then rollout the training program, complete the evaluation, and compare against a business evaluation of the non-trained group. Unfortunately, this is rarely done because of the difficulty of gathering the business data and the complexity of isolating the training intervention as a unique variable. This evaluation measures the success of the training program in term that executives and managers can understand such as increased production, increased sales, decreased costs, improved quality, reduced frequency of accidents, higher profits or return on investment, positive changes in management style or in general behavior, increase in engagement levels of direct ports and favourable feedback from customers, peers and subordinates. For example, after training in April 2005, the sales continued to increase throughout 2005. However, Level 4 evaluations are difficult to measure and correlate with training. For example, the increase in sales could be attributed to several factors such as training and product promotions.

The fourth level in this model is to evaluate the business impact of the training program. y Sales training. Measure change in sales volume, customer retention, length of sales cycle, profitability on each sale after the training program has been implemented. y Technical training. Measure reduction in calls to the help desk; reduced time to complete reports, forms, or tasks; or improved use of software or systems. y y y Quality training. Measure a reduction in number of defects. Safety training. Measure red uction in number or severity of accidents. Management training. Measure increase in engagement levels of direct-reports.