The UK Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) published its annual learning and talent development survey in April 2010. The survey examined current practices specific to learning and talent development and addressed topics that included the forms of policies used by organisations across the public, private and ‘third’ sectors to manage learning and talent development, levels of employee skills, and economic circumstances and training expenditure.
About the survey
In April 2010, the UK Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) published the findings of its 12th annual learning and talent development survey (574Kb PDF). CIPD surveyed 724 organisations for the purposes of the survey, of which:
- 61% operated in the private sector;
- 34% operated in the public sector;
- 8% operated in the voluntary and community sector.
In terms of size, of the organisations surveyed:
- 37% employed 5,000 or more employees;
- 23% employed 1,000–4,999 employees;
- 21% employed 250–999 employees;
- 18% employed 249 employees or less.
Main results
Trends in learning and talent development
The survey identified a number of trends in the policies used by organisations in learning and talent development, such as the following.
- E-learning is the learning and talent development practice that has increased the most over the previous year, with 62% of organisations reporting that they used it more than in 2009. In-house development programmes are also used more by 58% of organisations and coaching by line managers is used more by 56%. Attendance at external conferences, workshops and events has decreased the most, with the survey finding that 26% of organisations use it less.
- Learning and talent development specialists are most likely (53%) to hold the main responsibility for employees’ learning and talent development, followed by senior managers (33%), human resources (HR) departments (30%) and line managers (29%). Employees/learners are mostly expected to show ‘some’ involvement (54%), but few (17%) organisations expect them to be mainly responsible for their own learning.
- It was also found that, for almost half (46%) of organisations, the major organisational change affecting learning and talent development over the next five years will be greater integration between coaching, organisational development and performance management to drive organisational change. For almost four in 10 (37%) organisations, the main change will be greater responsibility devolved to line managers.
Trends in employee skills
The survey also identified a number of trends concerning employee skills.
- The skills that organisations reported they need employees to focus on developing in order to meet their business objectives in two years’ time are leadership skills (65%), front-line people management skills (55%) and business acumen/awareness (51%).
- School leavers are likely to be seen as lacking in business skills/acumen and commercial awareness (59%), management/leadership skills (54%) and communication/interpersonal skills (53%). Respondents viewed university graduates as likely to be lacking in management/leadership skills (59%), and business skills/acumen and commercial awareness (56%). Employees coming from another organisation were less likely to be seen as lacking key skills. Management/leadership skills were cited as an area of weakness for this group, but only by 29% of respondents.
Impact of economic situation on training budgets
The survey also found that the economic situation of organisations had worsened and that this had implications for learning and talent development budgets. Two thirds (65%) of respondent organisations reported that their economic circumstances had declined in the previous 12 months compared with a figure of 46% in 2009. Funds available for learning and development in the previous 12 months had fallen for over half (52%) of organisations, while only one in 10 employers (11%) expected funds to increase in the next 12 months.
Commentary
The survey finding that the economic recession has led to the cutting of learning and development budgets has major implications for the lifelong learning and development of employees in the United Kingdom. Aside from the potential for the deterioration of the provision of lifelong learning to employees, the survey demonstrates that the forms in which learning and talent development is delivered by organisations may change. The finding that e-learning has markedly increased within organisations at the expense of attendance at external conferences, workshops and events is one example of this.
Other findings of the survey raise questions. The perception among organisations that the skills of school leavers are markedly inferior to those of employees coming from organisations has implications for potential rises in youth unemployment. In addition, the trend for learning and talent development specialists to hold the main responsibility for employees’ learning and talent development may decline as cost pressures become even greater.
Thomas Prosser, University of Warwick