Bevis, K: Sustainable Learning in the Workplace

Skills are a major contribution to a company s success. We all know that we need more, better and newer skills in the workplace, but so much training, however well intended lacks any impact on the business. If the learning has not been sustained by being embedded in the business, the investment in training can be wasted. This book reviews training activity among manufacturers within the automotive supply chain, particularly from the perspective of the smaller companies and the trainees themselves. A model is developed that focuses attention on the value of the learning. Criteria are identified to support the model as a Framework for Sustainable Learning. The companies most likely to meet these quantifiable criteria will be the competitive and innovative companies that operate as learning organisations. It is argued that training targeted on these companies will be cost effective to implement, provide measurable performance benefits and deliver sustainable learning. This Framework should be especially useful to company managers or advisers in skills brokerage who are seeking to optimise the investment in skills development.