Blowing the learning and development trumpet

I have just finished reading the article ‘Blow the L&D trumpet’ in the November issue of Training & Coaching Today. As the vice-chairman of my local Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) branch and a fellow of the institute, I could not believe the comments from Victoria Winkler of the CIPD.

Comments such as “L&D professionals can no longer afford to be solely interested in training, but must be aware of wider HR and business issues” is absolutely absurd and far removed from the corporate world in which I work.

I have been a training specialist for more than 20 years and not once have I considered becoming a HR generalist. In fact, it is fair to say that the regular telephone calls I receive from recruitment consultants suggest that specialists of my trade are very much in demand in the open market.

I am familiar with the work of Adrian Snook, of the Training Foundation, having placed all of my trainers through its Trainer Assessment Programme in the past 12 months, and I couldn’t agree more with his comment that “the implication is that training is something you do while you wait for a proper job in HR”. I completely agree.

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I am proud to be a learning specialist and disappointed with the narrow view expressed by Victoria Winkler.

Ray Harrison, FCIPD
Head of training, development and coaching,
Barclaycard Business