How to get in…
Organisations tend to look for applicants who have the CIPD qualification, along with HR experience and any learning and development skills. Although less common, there are also opportunities for people with backgrounds in general management, team leading, or any position where arranging training played a major role.
Strong organisational and people skills are a must, as you will be dealing with companies and staff, as well as designing and implementing training programmes.
What it involves…
Training is broken up into three key areas: design, co-ordination and delivery, and courses must be based on the organisation’s needs. All members of the learning and development team should be involved in analysing training needs, enabling you to design and build the appropriate courses.
Once these have been completed, it is of the utmost importance that you evaluate the effectiveness of the training programme as soon as possible.
Moving up…
To progress in this field, you should acquire knowledge of modern training solutions or learning and development tools, such as 360-degree feedback.
You should also look into gaining a professional training qualification. This will demonstrate your ability to develop creative and practical learning and development initiatives.
The learning and development market is healthy and competitive, and there is plenty of scope for HR training professionals to develop their careers, as long as they are able to demonstrate the value of the service they have provided in a business context.
Even in the not-for-profit sector, a demonstration of commercial awareness and enthusiasm for your profession will often go a very long way.
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