16.7 Summary and Conclusions
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This chapter has considered the politics of skill formation, the policies and
practices of training and development, and approaches to building competence.
The question was posed at the outset as to why, given that all organizations need a
competent workforce, there are signiWcant diVerences in approaches to training
and development between diVerent economies and diVerent enterprises. There is
no simple answer: diVerent contexts evidently demand diVerent approaches to
training and development but even in the same context diVerent approaches may
be adopted. As with approaches to HRM in general, ‘one sizeWts all’ is not a serious
option for HRD.
According to international organizations like the OECD, the need to develop
new skills for the emerging knowledge-based economy represents a policy priority
that has clearly inXuenced supranational bodies like the EU and APEC. Despite this
consensus, shared by most national governments, the focus on supply-side issues
can be criticized for neglecting the demand side. Are the jobs being created that
demand these skills and do employers really need the skills they want?
There are extensive national diVerences in VET systems even within the EU and,
when we look beyond to transition economies like the former Soviet states, to
developing economies like South Africa, and to the dynamic Asian and Middle
Eastern countries, there are approaches to national HRD strategies that challenge
the Anglo-American dominance so evident in the literature. Development, in
particular, in these cases may have broader objectives associated not only with
personal and professional evolution but also clear socio-economic objectives.
In suggesting scenarios for the future, two divergent trends are apparent simul-
taneously, often in the same environment. The Wrst concerns the increasingly
strategic focus of training and development on the competences needed to support
organizational strategy, typiWed by the UKInvestor in People Standard. This
approach may become more widespread as organizations seek to justify investment
in training and development with a return on performance improvements. The
fundamental objective of training and development is to ensure individuals have
the skills or competences needed for their work performance, whether part of a
high-skill, high-performance HRM model or simply the basic skills demanded of
a Taylorist work process. The second trend is the widespread, but not universal,
tendency for training to give way to development and for both to give way to
learning, implying the individual taking more responsibility and the HRD role
becoming one of facilitating learning opportunities. In policy terms, this trend
is also apparent in initiatives to create ‘joined-up’ lifelong learning, where the
experiences of school, college, university, workplace, and community are seen
as contributing in complementary ways to individual development. While the
two trends may seem contradictory, theWrst focused on narrow organizational
training, development, and competence 339