Training in the 21st century: Some lessons from the last one.

This paper reviews the major contributions that I-O Psychology has made to the understanding of the effects of training. Moving away from a purely pedagogical perspective, the psychological states of trainees, especially motivation, self-efficacy, and perceived control, combined with the realities of the organisational context, all influence the outcomes of training. Many of these variables have been shown to be malleable within a training context, and this has led to the development of powerful tools, techniques, and interventions that were lacking in the past. From a methodological perspective, research has identified the relevant measurement criteria, as well as when and how evaluation can be conducted. In addition, new instruments that assess organisational transfer climate and continuous-learning cultures are now available. Their use will allow organizations to better understand why they obtain the training results they do, and what they can do to improve training outcomes. Even as the importance of the work environment to training success has been amply demonstrated, it remains a very rare event when training departments intervene effectively to enhance the level of environmental support. Substantial practical suggestions that are theoretically and empirically grounded in research and techniques for enhancing training effectiveness under a variety of organisational conditions, be they favourable or not to training, are described. Several analytical models which may prove of relevance to practitioners and to scholars in guiding the selection and the design of transferable training programs are presented and discussed.The last decade of the twentieth century points quite visibly to signs of a major transformation of work and organizations that is likely to continue into the next century. A number of geo-political forces such as the industrialization of the Asian nations which is now in full swing, and more generalized trade treaties appear to be shifting the rich economies away from industrial production and towards service industries that are technology intensive. The services once offered by bank tellers, typists, and telephone operators to chose but three examples, are routinely provided by customer operated technologies.Whether or not the nineties become known as the transformation decade, it has brought difficulties to all Western type economies. Although Canada shares many of the woes of the time -- unemployment, uncertainty, loss of confidence, etc. -- the nineties brought problems specific to us. The collapse of key resource based industries, especially the East Coast Fisheries, generalized governmental cut-backs, major downsizing and plant closings have all occurred simultaneously. Many unemployed workers now hold competencies for jobs that no longer exist. The ensuing social problem stimulated a collective response and public funds have been committed, in great abundance, to job re-training.Training as a Social Response to a Social ProblemMany countries, especially European ones, have extensive training policies. Whereas Canada has long accepted a collective role in the development of the workforce, it has been unable as yet to frame an overall policy. Although Canadian companies spend $4 billion annually on training and development, on average they spend only one-half of what is spent by American firms, and much less than what is spent by organizations in Japan and Europe (Belcourt & Wright, 1996). In fact, in his study of the Canadian economy, Michael Porter warned that Canadians face a future declining standard of living if we do not increase our investment in workplace training and education (Toulin, 1991).Fortunately, training budgets in Canadian organizations are increasing at a higher rate than inflation (McIntyre, 1994), and some provinces, notably Quebec and New Brunswick, have taken legislative steps to ensure that this trend continues. …