Training & Development

This page describes the NWDA’s commitment to training and development. It seeks to illustrate how that commitment is demonstrated and supported within a context of performance and people management.

1. Purpose of Strategy

This document describes the NWDA’s commitment to training and development. It seeks to illustrate how that commitment is demonstrated and supported within a context of performance and people management.

2. Aims of the Strategy

The Agency is committed to ensuring that all employees are equipped with the required skills and competencies to carry out their roles, responsibilities and accountabilities.  This Training & Development Strategy demonstrates and underpins that commitment.

3. Objectives

• To provide a framework that aligns training and development activities with Agency objectives and targets, thus informing individual training needs and priorities
• To embed in the Agency a culture that fosters a positive environment for learning and development in order to promote continuous improvement in performance and delivery
• To provide a work environment that is supportive and receptive to development opportunities and activities
• To ensure ownership for training and development lies with managers and job holders 
• To capitalise on investment in training and development activities through monitoring, review and evaluation.

4. Approach

The Agency recognises that training and development is an essential part of people management and is a critical element of all line managers’ accountabilities.  Managers are able to deal with their responsibilities to establish, develop and deploy their teams through the Agency’s human resource practices and procedures.  These recognise that:

• People management initiatives commence with recruitment and follow through induction, continuous performance management and formal performance appraisal
• Individuals have specific training and development plans within the context of their role and performance plan
• These plans are placed within the context of Agency priorities and the explicit value base of the organisation
• Individuals’ training and development plans acknowledge and explore a variety of activities and opportunities within the work environment, as well as formal training interventions, e.g. training courses, conferences, etc
• Training plans are underpinned by required competencies i.e. skills, knowledge and behaviours  
• Training activities are centrally facilitated to ensure cost efficient purchasing, overall planning and review  
• Line managers are responsible for identifying need and evaluating individual  training outcomes.

5. Core Activities

Some training and development areas have been identified as being best suited for a standardised corporate approach.  These will be designed and delivered centrally or through a facilitated remote medium depending on the application.  Line managers retain responsibility for ensuring the corporate learning events are featured in personal development plans.  The corporate activities include:

• Intro, the Agency’s induction programme
• Leadership Plus
• Diversity and equality of opportunity
• Health & Safety
• IT applications
• Special projects and initiatives

6. Supporting Framework

Training and development activities flow from the Agency’s agenda and priorities, supported through individual job roles and responsibilities.  Individual training needs are informed from this standpoint and tailored to the individual’s circumstances.  A number of inter-related people management initiatives are designed to support these activities.  These include:

• Personal development plans
• Personal objective setting
• Performance review and ratings
• Competency profiles
• Professional updating, including continuous professional development (CPD)
• Reward through pay

In addition to the above, development initiatives may be employed as a wider motivational strategy and form part of an individual’s remuneration package.  Such initiatives will be subject to business case proposals and be dealt with on an individual basis.

7. Implementation

7.1 Intro Programme

Orientation into any organisation requires an informed and tailored approach.  The diverse nature of the work of the NWDA can present new employees with greater difficulties in finding their way around the systems and Agency practices.  The Intro Programme has been designed to cover practical and basic information for new employees, taking them through the initial stages of orientation and leading them through a series of issues that enables a better understanding of how the Agency operates and the context in which their individual roles exist.  The programme draws from:

• Core information common to all 
• The line manger leading the programme
• Partner participants to cover team interactions and HR matters
• Interface with performance management systems
• The use of employment probationary periods
• Opportunities to engage in cross-directorate events
• Minimum standards to ensure timely interventions

7.2 Leadership Plus

Managers can further develop their people management skills through the Agency’s Leadership Plus programme.  This is underpinned by leadership competencies, a series of development activities and a strong coaching style.

The chosen management style of supporting and coaching staff to achieve high performance outcomes is central to Leadership Plus.   This approach forms the basis of all people management activities and is supported by:

• Emphasis on competencies
• Individual assessments
• Elective developmental methodologies
• Formal training and work place learning
• Active support from the line manager

7.3 Diversity and Equality of Opportunity

The Agency is committed to embracing diversity and promoting equality of opportunity within employment.  It is essential that staff are familiar with ways in which diversity and equality can be achieved.  This will be supporting by training initiatives including:

• Dedicated training sessions on diversity and equality awareness
• Tailored training for specific staff groups , e.g. contract managers
• Diversity and equality training built into the Intro Programme

7.4 Health and Safety

The Agency’s health and safety policy sets out all the responsibilities in this area, with framework documents and details of all health and safety reporting arrangements.  Planned training activities are held to support these responsibilities and include:

• Training for first aiders
• Fire marshall and emergency evacuation procedures
• General health and safety awareness for all staff
• Site safety procedures  
• Health and safety representative training

7.5 IT Applications

A suite of training modules is available to enable staff to work with IT systems and specific software.  The training is available through a range of delivery mechanisms, including e-learning for certain applications.  The corporate training initiatives include:

• Basic, intermediary and advance levels for Microsoft Office 
• Modules to achieve a European Computer Driving Licence
• Use of Programme Management System

7.6 Special Projects and Initiatives

From time to time the Agency will commission corporate training on special issues.  These are designed to support the Agency’s vision for the region and facilitate in the delivery of the Regional Economic Strategy.  Such initiatives may incorporate training activities for Agency staff together with partner and stakeholder organisations.  An example of such a programme is:

'Constructing Excellence in the Region' 

This programme features a suite of training modules aimed at staff and partner organisations involved in the design, planning and on-going maintenance of public buildings.  The initiative is all embracing and goes beyond the traditional approach to land and property matters. 

7.7  Leading by Example

A key element to prioritising people management and development activities is the example set by the management team.  Their style will further embed in the Agency the priority given to people management practice, with  particular reference to performance management and development plans. 

7.8  Facilitation and Role of HR

The Agency’s HR team will provide support, initiatives and monitoring arrangements to implement the Agency’s Training & Development Strategy.  These include:

• Auditing of personal performance management and developmental activity
• Researching, recommending, purchasing and marketing good training and development initiatives
• Further developing the Agency’s intranet to include advice on developmental activities
• Drawing out management information from the overall process; for example, issues regarding the Agency’s performance and recommended changes in management activity 
• Advice and guidance to managers on their role
• Facilitation of non-training options; for example, secondments, work shadowing, role changes,  etc
• Providing regular reports to the corporate management team on training and development activity
• Ensuring the training budget demonstrates value for money .

Line managers will retain full responsibility for the training and development activities of their respective teams, with HR providing further enabling and support activity to facilitate this.

7.9  Competencies 

Competencies are defined as characteristics that enable an individual to perform a job better, in more situations, more often and with better results.  They help to distinguish the best from the rest within any given role.  They represent a move away from a simplistic description of the tasks of a job and focus on what enables individuals to do these tasks in an effective and satisfactory manner.
 
The Agency has an established competency framework that is appended to the performance appraisal scheme.  In addition, a set of leadership competencies has been identified to underpin Leadership Plus. 

Competencies may be allocated to jobs and will greatly assist in performance management, including performance reviews.  This will give clear focus to discussions between managers and job holders and will help to inform training needs and performance gaps. 

7.10 Performance Management System

The performance management system is instrumental in facilitating development activities.  The use of the competency framework provides assistance in objective setting, as well as identifying training needs.  This is particularly useful in jobs where outputs are not the prime focus.  The classic example is that of secretarial and administrative posts, where positive performance is best defined in competency terms rather than purely outputs. 

8.   Evaluation

The value and investment on training and development activities needs to be evidenced through proper evaluation.  Evaluation is concerned with recognising the change that occurs following training and development interventions.  The various methods of evaluation include:

• Pre- and post-course assessments
• Pre- and post-course action plans
• Regular performance review and discussions with line managers
• Identification of performance improvement 

Line managers are responsible for ensuring that evaluation forms part of any training and development activity.

9. Summary

Training and development is a critical element of people management activity and is an important investment for the Agency.  The commitment given to this activity is supported through an established training budget, together with facilities for managers to discharge their responsibilities to ensure their staff teams are developed within the context of this strategy.