A Proactive Model for Training Needs Analysis

The focus of training needs analysis is typically job performance. If people lack the knowledge or skills necessary to perform successfully the various tasks which comprise their jobs we have identified a training need. If another factor is hindering performance, such as faulty equipment or low morale, we have identified another type of need. We concentrate on job performance because it is observable and because it synchronizes with the behaviourist model of learning which figures so prominently in most thinking about training. It could well be argued that this deficiency approach is no longer adequate in our present environment in which the very nature of jobs and competences is subject to constant change. Argues for a more proactive, strategically based approach and suggests key issues which will need to be addressed at each stage of the process.