Training Careers

A young person approached me this morning and asked if it is a good idea to become a trainer. I used the classic answer used by consultants - " it all depends."
Of course, it depends on what the young person wants to do, what his/her goals are.
To explain myself I had to rely on my personal experiences and let the young person decide what is best. From my viewpoint, I certainly think training is indeed a very noble profession. You can call it by whatever name you want but if you are in the business of helping someone learn and if that learner is able to apply it in some form of work, I think you have evolved into a trainer.
Training has been around since stone age and all of us have learned right from the day we entered into this world. The question is - was that training or learning cost effective. Hence a professional trainer is one who impacts people in a positive way. A Professional trainer is one with good communication skills and subject matter expertise. To achieve professional status requires structured learning.
Organisations require training because they are in a constant state of change or with a desire to learn and grow on an almost continuous basis. Training is about helping people change and transform through learning. Training is often described as learning attitudes, skills and knowledge (ASK).
Four key developments have shaped the face of training today -
  1. Adult Learning,
  2. Transfer of Learning to the Workplace,
  3. Evaluation Strategies, and
  4. Information Technology.

We will continue to look at each of them in the next four days and review how these four have impacted training today.

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