This article examines what has happened to training in public sector organisations in the UK in a period of austerity. It draws on individual-level data collected over the period 2000-2012 and establishment-level data collected from employer surveys carried out between 2005 and 2012. To understand these data further, 75 qualitative interviews with…

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused complex challenges across the apprenticeship landscape. The unique position of apprenticeships -- which combine education, training and employment - has made the sector particularly vulnerable to the current health crisis. Impacts on training providers and access to learning are being compounded by the profound…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual viewpoint which proposes the use of the post graduate Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) approach to learning in undergraduate education and practice-based training. Design/methodology/approach: This is an examination of the KTP approach and how this could be used effectively in…

Current UK skills policy is centred on the need to drive up qualification obtainment and make the system more employer-led with Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) being given the role of articulating the "voice" of employers. Through a study of recruitment and selection processes in the fitness industry, this paper explores employers'…

A survey of 6,000 British small businesses, 600 interviews, and 120 case studies found that 70-80% were family owned; most favored informal management styles. In family-owned businesses, training of nonfamily employees was considered less crucial; investments in the latter were related to long-term business strategies and potential succession.…

Describes research conducted at the Manchester Institute of Science and Technology about the changing nature of personnel management. The authors found that training has become an easy target for economies at times of economic stringency and is not being vigorously defended by the senior personnel managers within whose functions it is located. (CT)

"Foreword" (Handy); "Creda's Vocational Training Scheme" (Bradley); "IBM: Learning for Life" (Stevenson); "Personal Development at Sainsbury's" (Deaves); "Ford Employee Development and Assistance Programmes" (Moore); "Hotpoint North Wales" (Jones); "Derbyshire Employee Development…

The National Record of Achievement (NRA) is a standard folder containing information sheets that allow individuals in the United Kingdom (U.K.) to summarize their achievements and manage their learning and development in a nationally recognized format. Employer awareness and use of NRAs was examined through a telephone survey of 487 U.K. employers…

The question of whether the term "intermediate skills" has a distinctive meaning across business and industry in the United Kingdom and in its major competitors was examined. The study focused on the following sectors: housing construction; broadcasting; the care sector; the exercise, health, and fitness sector; and engineering (high…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on the past, present, and future of human resource development (HRD). "Revisiting the New Deal: A Longitudinal Case Study" (Judy Pate, Graeme Martin, Jim McGoldrick) draws upon data from a longitudinal case study of the links between job security and HRD to examine the new…

This document contains three papers on emotions and behavior in the workplace and their implications for human resource development (HRD). "Analyzing Training from an Emotions Perspective" (Darren C. Short) reviews the empirical and theoretical literature on emotions and explains how the literature can be used to analyze incidences in…