Training Needs Assessment (TNA)

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Training Needs Assessment (TNA)
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Background information

• Civil Service Systems
• Career based civil service system
• Position based civil service system
• Different training systems
• Pre-service training system
• In-service training system

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Training systems- background information (cont.)

• Different training systems
• Career based system little regard to pre-service
  training and great regard to a continual process
  of training and retraining
• Position based system more attention to the
  level, content and style of education received
  prior to entry into the civil service.
• Reliance on pre-service training runs the risk
  that ideas, skills and knowledge are not kept up
  to date.
• In-service training systems traditionally take
  less notice of the original specialization of
  individuals prior training and education, more
  important is continual process of training.

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Types of training

• Initial training - the acquisition of knowledge
  and development of skills of persons starting
  employment as civil servants
• could be an obligatory component
• trainees could be asked to pass a test at the
  end of the training
• could consist of general programs and special
  programs tailored to meet the needs of a concrete
  position
• In-service training - the improvement of special
  professional knowledge and development of skills
  of a civil servant during tenure or when seeking
  promotion

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Needs Assessment

• In general Needs Assessment is a systematic
  exploration of the way local governments are
  functioning (organizational and individual
  performance) and the way they should be
  functioning
• Identification of
• Priority target groups?
• Most important needs of the target groups?
• Adequate response to the needs- training
  approach methods facilities

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Distinguishing training needs from other
performance problems

• A training need exists when an employee lacks the
  knowledge or skill to perform an assigned task
  satisfactorily
• The simple questions to ask, to determine whether
  training need exist are following
• Problems and deficits Are there problems which
  might be solved by training?
• Opportunities Could we improve the performance
  by taking advantage of training programs?
• Mandated training Are there internal or external
  forces dictating that training and development
  will take place (laws, policies, management
  decisions etc.)
• Impending change Are there (performance)
  problems which do not currently exist but are
  foreseen due to changes, such as new policies,
  laws, rules and regulations, procedures,
  equipment, changes in organization of the work
  etc?

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Training Needs Assessment- process

• Step 1 Preparatory work
• Step 2. Perform a gap analysis
• Step 3. Identify priorities and importance
• Step 4. Identify causes of performance problems
  and/or opportunities
• Step 5. Identify possible solutions

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Step 1 Preparatory work

• Legal framework?
• Existing training strategy?
• Objectives of training?
• Existing training institutions?
• Demand-driven or donor-driven?
• Previous training experiences?
• Approach to the delivery of training (training
  provider and training facilitator?)
• Funding of civil servants training?

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Step 2. Perform a gap analysis

• Current situation determine the current state of
  skills, knowledge, and abilities of the target
  groups (e.g. current and/or future employees)
• Desired situation identify the desired or
  necessary conditions for the target groups
  (organizational and personal success)
• Gap analysis Compare the current situation
  against desired or necessary situation and
  identify the needs, purposes, and objectives of
  the training

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Step 3. Identify priorities and importance

• Produced a large list of needs (wishes) for
  training
• Examine training needs in view of their
  importance to local governments (organizational
  goals, service delivery, etc) target groups
  (realities and constraints).
• Prioritize among identified needs

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Step 4. Identify causes of performance problems
and/or opportunities

• Identify specific problem areas and opportunities
  and determine if training is the appropriate
  solution, and if it will be cost-effective
  (questions are the target groups doing their
  jobs effectively? do they know how to do their
  jobs?...)
• Organization development activities may provide
  solutions when the problem is not based on a lack
  of knowledge and is primarily associated with
  changes, motivation, work organization, etc.
  These interventions might include strategic
  planning, organization restructuring, performance
  management and/or effective team building.

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Step 5. Identify possible solutions

• Based on the identified problems prepare
  comprehensive report with recommendations
• Suggest training areas (including suggested list
  of training topics, if possible to identify)
• Include new policies, laws, approaches develop
• Suggested training areas or programs
• Other recommendations

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TNA exercise

• Use multiple methods of Needs Assessment. To get
  a true picture, don't rely on one method but on
  many sources and viewpoints.
• There are several basic Needs Assessment
  techniques. Use a combination of some of these,
  as appropriate
• exploratory meetings
• analysis of existing written materials,
  documentation and available data, previous
  surveys and studies, review of relevant
  literature
• questionnaires
• interviews
• focus groups
• key informant (consultation with persons in key
  positions, and/or with specific knowledge)
• direct observation
• tests
• performance assessment