Case study
The training needs of an expanding business
© State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Training, 2008
Introduction
Training needs analyses are used to assist organisations to:
· identify their training needs
· develop relevant solutions.
In the (fictional) case study provided below, a small business is hoping to expand—but for this to happen its workforce will need to learn new skills and knowledge. The question is: Which skills and knowledge?
As you read through the case study reflect on the following:
· In what ways would your organisation be able to assist a client, such as the bakery in the case study, by conducting a training needs analysis?
· How would you identify the bakery’s needs through data investigation?
· How would you provide advice and recommendations on the training and assessment services required to meet the identified training needs?
Case study
The business, located in a western Sydney suburb and specialising in bread retail, started off small with two business partners. The business grew steadily over time, with staff numbering up to a dozen by the time one of the partners retired years later.
Subsequently, the remaining owner enlisted two new business partners. They were eager to expand, and so the company leased larger premises which they out-fitted with modern equipment.
A few years later, under this new management, the business has ventured into wholesale and the variety of baked goods has expanded to include pies, pastries and cakes. There is talk of producing a line of frozen products, including hors d’oeuvre.
There is currently a staff of 30, working shifts. Most of the staff do not hold food industry qualifications. Staff training has been mostly ad-hoc, with a Supervisor occasionally providing demonstrations. The company is finding that their staff do not have the necessarily skills, and that time and effort is often wasted on correcting mistakes as well as on the ad-hoc demonstrations that needed to be repeated for a different person each time. The company has encouraged staff to take up courses at the local TAFE college but this has proven to be difficult.
The owners want to continue expanding the business and there are plans to open, over the next five years, a second plant that would specialise in gelato. However, they don’t know if they’ll be able to do this as they feel constrained by what they see as their present staff’s lack of skills and knowledge.
At a local event showcasing the local TAFE college, the company’s owners were chatting with some of the teachers about their business. This is what one of the owners said:
Our staff work shifts and so it’s really hard for them to attend classes at your college. They have been getting experience on-the-job but they can only do basic routine tasks—this is fine but we are expanding our product lines and so new skills and knowledge are needed. At the moment, they have to be shown how to do every new task by the supervisor. We are finding that it is an inefficient use of the supervisor’s time to keep showing one worker after another the same task or process. We’ve tried group demonstrations by the supervisor but this didn’t work as everyone works shifts. There is also a shortage of workers in the industry.
Here’s a summary of their concerns:
· Many of their workers have low literacy skills.
· Some of their workers had enrolled in the Certificate III in Food Processing but have dropped out.
· The reasons for dropping out have included: difficulty with attending classes which are not held at times convenient to them; problems with the maths and literacy.
· Compliance with the Food Act is proving to be a problem as, apart from the company owners, there is only one supervisor who has received training in this area.
· The company is also interested in securing traineeships for its workers as well as accessing other government subsidies for training.
A teacher provided the company owners information about traineeships and suggested that a training needs analysis should reveal exactly what skills and knowledge are needed by the workers. ‘We need to be sure of what training they need, otherwise, it could be money and time unwisely used’, he advised.
The owners were interested and asked how they could get a training needs analysis done, as they know that their company can only progress if their workers are properly trained. They had heard about the National Training Package but were a bit sceptical about the benefits of accredited training. They were also worried that once the skills audit had taken place, the college might not offer what they need.
The teacher suggested someone in his college Business Development Unit would be able to help. This is what he said about his organisation:
We have been developing and delivering quality flexible training which reflect industry standards.
We specialise in customising training to suit your needs. We’ve becoming increasingly responsive. We are able to deliver a flexible training program according to your needs—whenever and wherever you want.
We also have a number of delivery options and these include not just classes at our college but also training in your workplace, online or by distance.
Our Business Development Unit can carry out a training needs analysis. And they can talk to you about accessing Australian Government-sponsored initiatives or subsidies aimed at improving your workers’ work opportunities and career options.
Reflection questions and workplace learning
In the case study, the idea that there could be a partnership between the company and the training provider came about informally at a showcase event.
· Reflect on the needs expressed by the client in the case study.
· Is training the answer? How would you investigate this question?
· What further questions would you ask the client to analyse their needs?
Suppose you were to conduct a training needs analysis for the company in the case study.
· List the project activities (or steps) you would take.
· Research the tools and templates you would use.
· Draft a TNA process.
· Develop your data-gathering tools (eg questions, what to observe, etc).
· Practise using your data-gathering tool on colleagues (ask for feedback).
Workplace learning
Below is a practice exercise you can do, perhaps with a colleague in your workplace. Also, discuss the issues with your mentor.Research the businesses and industries in your region as well as the departments within your organisation for potential training opportunities.
· Focussing on one of the opportunities, develop an outline of what you would propose to do in the project (ie the project activities/steps).
· What data-gathering technique (or techniques) would you use, and why?
· What tools would you use to help you identify the organisational/client needs?
· Before a TNA is conducted, a consultation plan (outlining who you will be consulting when gathering data for the TNA, timelines, etc) is usually drafted. Draft the questions you would need answers to, and who would need to consult.
Develop a checklist of the evidence you would keep, eg an outline of client needs, consultation plan, etc.
Learning portfolio
From your workplace exercise (detailed above), collect the following:· A list of potential training opportunities in your organisation and local region.
· An outline of proposed project activities/steps for one of the opportunities you have identified.
· An explanation of the data-gathering technique(s) you would use.
· A set of tools/templates (modified to suit your needs).
· An outline for a consultation plan.
Websites
Different ways of working (ICVET): http://www.icvet.tafensw.edu.au/ezine/year_2008/feb/exemplar_different_working.htm
Workplace Practice: a team approach (ICVET): http://www.icvet.tafensw.edu.au/ezine/year_2008/feb/exemplar_team_approach.htm
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Case study – The training needs of an expanding business XXX
© NSW DET 2008