Being shown how to do things has been rated as the best way to learn according to the latest CIPD Who Learns at Work? survey.
But HR is playing a less important role than before, as line managers are increasingly seen as the driving force behind training initiatives.
The Chartered Insititute of Personnel and Development found that 46% of respondents rated “being show how to do things” as the best way of learning. This method was favoured by the 16- to 24-year-old age group especially, with 50% of them saying it was their preferred way to learn.
The report said this served to question the widely held assumption that GenerationY learns in a different way.
However, despite this learning preference, the survey found classroom training was the most common form of work-related learning, followed by on-the-job training.
CIPD learning adviser Martyn Sloman said: “Trainers are no longer the sun around which learner planets revolve. Employees have a preference for more active learning opportunities. They certainly don’t like solitary or unsupported learning.”
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The CIPD said the report indicated a continuing shift in responsibility for training decisions in UK organisations – from HR departments to line managers. The percentage of respondents stating that the training they received was initiated by their employer’s HR and/or training department fell from 33% in 2005 to 21% in 2008. Line managers now instigate 49% of training, according to the survey.
Of the 750 respondents to the online survey, 79% said their employer provided them with enough training opportunities and 92% said the training they had received had been successful.
