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Purpose: This paper provides a review of literature on associated practices, challenges, and proposed solutions to bridging the relationship gap between training practitioners and chief financial officers (CFOs). Design/methodology/approach: This is a descriptive research paper based on a multidisciplinary and critical review of existing literature discussing the relationship gaps between the training function and chief financial officers.

Findings: Available literature suggests a relationship gap exists between the training function and chief financial officers. As a result, both functions interpret the value of workplace training differently, leading to misalignment in their respective operations. The lack of relationship between the functions may result in defunding of the training function, which can adversely affect an organization's financial performance. Although CFOs and training functions have the same goal of creating organizational value, an opportunity exists to create a stronger partnership between finance practitioners and training practitioners, leading to increased investment in training and ultimately improved organizational value. Research limitations/implications: This article presents contextual research findings and may not fit all settings, but offers a comparative account of challenges associated with relationship challenges between the training function and CFOs. A paucity of research exists on the relationships between training and CFOs.

Practical implications: This paper has real and practical implications for learning and development, finance, and human resources practitioners. The findings seek to encourage training practitioners and CFOs to build stronger relationships and jointly define measurement and reporting practices. This research aims to provide an informed perspective on practices to help executives better understand the value of workplace training, leading to an increase of the investment in training, and ultimately changing the categorization of training spend from a cost to an investment. Originality/value: This paper provides original insights and reviews newly published studies regarding relationships between the training function and chief financial officers, the development of workplace training valuation approaches, the associated challenges faced, and proposed solutions. This paper will be of value to human resources, learning and development, and finance, assisting practitioners in thinking differently about approaches to quantifying the value of workplace training.

Published abstract. Show less

The inaugural Training Trends report [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 151.302] last year aimed to help organisations make the most of their training investment and to identify how embedding quality from start to finish can maximise the impact for individuals and organisations alike. A year later, many of these challenges still apply as organisations focus on adapting to an everchanging economic landscape and the increasing demand for both new skills and knowledge of emerging technologies. In this follow-up research exploring the latest training trends, the authors asked learning and development (L&D) and finance leaders in over 600 large organisations1 where their training priorities lie and what challenges they face in securing investment.

Despite respondents recognising skills development as the leading driver of business growth, they also surfaced barriers preventing training from realising its potential. This report details top findings and industry insights, including actionable advice into how to build programmes that provide real return on investment for both employees and organisations.

Edited excerpt from publication. Show less

There have been significant political and economic changes in the UK which provide the backdrop to employer expenditure on training: Brexit and a new immigration policy, the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. Against this backdrop, the UK faces the long-term challenge of increasing productivity. Productivity can be raised through increasing investment in physical capital, human capital and new technology. Employer expenditure on training can be divided into two parts: expenditure on general training provision and expenditure on apprenticeships. This publication seeks to discuss a series of key issues regarding: employer spending on general training provision; employer spending on apprenticeships; employer engagement in publicly funded post-16 education; and employer involvement in work placements. It includes analysis and recommendations on how to boost the demand for skills and employer investment in training from 21 leading organisations and experts. It concludes with key messages and recommendations from Campaign for Learning. From a policy perspective, ideas to increase employer spending on training in general and post-16 education and skills in particular refer to England.

Edited excerpts from publication and publisher's website.

The contents are as follows: Introduction / Julia Wright and Mark Corney. Part one, 'Employer investment in context', contains the following papers: Investment in the round / Louise Murphy; UK enterprises and investment in capital and training / Vicki Belt; Employer investment in training in England / Becci Newton. Part two, 'Drivers of employer investment in training', contains: Derived demand, British management and employer investment in training / Neil Carberry; Strategies to drive-up employer investment in training / Ewart Keep; Transitioning to net zero, green skills and employer investment in training / Sam Alvis; Job quality, job design and driving-up employer investment in training / Dan Lucy; Local inward investment, business support and employer demand for training / Natasha Waller; Universities, R&D, business innovation and meeting employer skills needs / Jovan Luzajic; FE colleges, business innovation and meeting employer skills needs / David Hughes.

Part three, 'Increasing employer investment in training', contains: Why should employers invest in training in a flexible labour market? / Paul Bivand; Why should employers invest in training with large net worker migration into the UK? / Aidan Relf; Raising employer investment in training / Stephan Evans; Increasing employer investment in training / Robert West; Encouraging employer demand for training / Lizzie Crowley; Increasing employer demand for management training / Anthony Painter. Part four, 'Raising employer demand for publicly funded post-16 education and skills', contains: Increasing employer demand for post-16 apprenticeships in England / Jane Hickie; Increasing employer demand for level 4-5 technical education in England / Mandy Crawford; Increasing employer demand for higher technical education in England / Ian Pryce. Part five, 'Raising employer demand for work placements', contains: Increasing employer demand for work placements for level 3-5 vocational courses in England / John Widdowson; Increasing employer demand for undergraduate work placements in England / Stephen Isherwood. The Campaign for Learning concluding section contains: Key messages / Mark Corney; Recommendations / Mark Corney. Show less

Purpose: Despite the enormous investment in employee training, training effectiveness is often hampered by insufficient transfer of learning (TOL) among trainees, making the return on training investment suboptimal. The challenge of effective TOL among employees is enormous, including personal and organizational factors, and research exploring this is inconclusive. This study aims to investigate organizational climate and TOL and the mediating role of emotional intelligence. Design/methodology/approach: Applying identical elements and social cognitive theories, the study used multistage sampling techniques through purposive, convenience and simple random sampling collected using validated measures of the study constructs formed into a survey questionnaire. Multiple Regression and Process Macro were used to analyze the data. Findings: Results revealed significant relationships between formalization, performance feedback, employee participation, innovation and flexibility with TOL. Organizational climate dimensions jointly and independently predicted TOL. However, only formalization was inversely related to TOL. Emotional intelligence partially mediates the relationship between organizational climate dimensions and TOL. The study recommends the need for managers to encourage autonomy, creativity and flexibility and provide honest and valid feedback to foster the TOL. Originality/value: By addressing the limitations of other studies, this study advances knowledge by underlining the significance of including and further exploring the mediating role of trainees' emotional intelligence on the relationship between organizational climate (formalization, performance feedback, employee participation, innovation and flexibility) and TOL.

Published abstract. Show less

Employer-sponsored training is a critical component of Canada's overall skills development landscape, which includes formal and informal education and skills training. It helps bridge gaps between formal education and the specific skills required in workplaces, including gaps that emerge from technological, regulatory, and other economic and social changes. Despite the importance of employer-sponsored training, little is currently known about how much Canadian employers invest in training, what kinds of training they offer, how it is delivered, what impacts it has, or how investment and opportunities differ across sectors, regions, and employee characteristics. Canadian data on the levels, kinds, trends, and impacts of employer-sponsored training are largely unreliable, out of date, and/or ill-suited for comparison across time and jurisdictions. Developing even a rough picture of the employer-sponsored training ecosystem in Canada is difficult.

This report draws on available literature and data to develop the best possible picture of employer-sponsored training levels and trends; types and modes of delivery; what motivates and hinders training investment; and how investment is distributed across sectors, types of firms, and learners. Examining the limited data suggests that employer-sponsored training in Canada is: (1) limited: Canadian firms invest modestly in training and lag behind their international peers in rates and hours of instruction; (2) concentrated: larger firms are more likely than smaller firms to provide training. Employers in utilities, finance and insurance, and other knowledge-based technology-rich industries train at above-average rates, while firms in retail, forestry, and oil and gas extraction provide below-average levels of training. Firms in Quebec and Ontario are more likely to provide training than firms in the Prairies or Atlantic provinces; and (3) ROI and workplace-focused: given their concern for return on investment (ROI), firms tend to invest in training for immediate needs, such as onboarding and orientation, technology adoption, addressing skills gaps, and implementing innovations, and favour on-the-job and at-workplace modes of delivery over classroom and other external options.

Edited excerpts from publisher's website. Show less

People invest £7.3 billion a year and £55 billion worth of time in learning. This is more than the Government and employers invest in learning and skills, but there are stark inequalities between groups. This report provides the most detailed snapshot seen of which groups of adults are investing in learning, and how much, and lays bare stark inequalities in learning. It calls for a new Lifelong Learning Entitlement to simplify the overly complex system, boost participation in learning by those currently most likely to miss out and boost the UK economy.

Based on analysis of Learning and Work Institute's long-running Adult Participation in Learning Survey, the research finds that younger people are three times more likely to participate in learning than older people and also invest three times as much per year (£3,900 v £1,300). This lower investment by older people is a problem given longer working lives and economic change require people to update their skills more often through life. The same is true of investment by region and country. People in London (£1,400) invest more than double per person compared to the South East (£565) and Scotland (£624).

This could put 'levelling up' at risk given the impact learning has on economic growth and individual opportunity. The data come after previous L&W research showed that Government investment in skills is set to be £1 billion lower in 2025 compared to 2010, and that employer investment in training per employee has fallen 28 per cent since 2005. Taken together, they suggest the UK is under-investing in skills and learning, and risks staying stuck in the middle of the pack by international standards. This would put future growth and prosperity at risk.

Summary from publisher's website. Show less

Using firm-level data covering the 27 EU countries, the UK and the US, we show that employers tend to reduce investment in training per employee after adopting advanced digital technologies (ADT). We estimate with a control function approach firm-level production functions augmented with two factors, the training stock per employee and digital technology use. We show that ADT use and employee training are substitutes in production, implying that an increase in the former negatively affects the marginal productivity of the latter, and that a decline in the cost of introducing ADT reduces employers' investment in training per employee. These findings point to challenges in realizing high levels of firm-sponsored training for employees in increasingly digital economies.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

The public, politicians and policymakers are talking about productivity - the only way a country can improve living standards and workers' their take home pay. This report examines the contribution skills policy has made in recent decades to address the UK 'productivity gap'. Based on quantitative analysis and interviews with leading education experts, including former policy advisers, the authors outline why the UK has been 'running to stand still' when it comes to upgrading skills and qualification levels in the workforce. Despite strong ministerial leadership, including the well-intended efforts of civil servants and delivery bodies, none of the fundamental metrics appear to have shifted in a significantly positive direction since 2008. As the UK prepares for a general election before January 2025, the report provides critical insights into the main skills and policy challenges facing the next government.

Edited excerpt from publication. Show less

In the UK, nearly 40 per cent of adults now go on to higher education (HE). Yet university is not the only place of learning beyond the school gates. There is a wide range of education and training undertaken by adults, from vocational courses at local colleges to ongoing on-the-job training and apprenticeships. This post-18 education and training receives less attention than HE, but is crucial to developing the skills needed by the UK's workforce and to boosting economic productivity. There is a range of potential policy levers available to a government wishing to encourage employers and individuals to invest in post-18 education and training.

In this report, we focus on the funding and financing of adult education and training in England. This encompasses four policy areas: the public funding of adult education (which covers funding for post-18 further education), the non-HE student loan system, apprenticeship policy, and the taxation of training. We do not cover other areas in detail, such as the regulation of training, although these are unquestionably important to the skills system. We begin by setting out how adult education and training participation has changed over time and how the experience in the UK compares with that in other countries. We draw lessons from the history of skills policy. We then analyse each of the four different policy levers in England through the lens of the trade-off between costs and benefits. The report concludes by setting out the lessons that can be drawn from this analysis and some of the government's options for reform.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

For more than 25 years, the Adult Participation in Learning Survey has provided a unique insight into adult learning across the UK. It adopts a deliberately broad definition of learning, reflecting the fact that learning is about so much more than formal courses and qualifications. The good news is that, after a decade of declines during the 2010s, participation in learning remains back at levels last seen in the early 2000s: around two in five adults (42 per cent) say they have taken part in learning at some point in the last three years. The survey also demonstrates a shift in the number of adults learning independently and informally, with interest sparked during the pandemic and the rise of lockdown learning and helping to fill the gap as formal and publicly-funded learning fell over the previous decade. In the same way, the step change during the pandemic in learning at least partly online has sustained: 68 per cent of adults said at least part of their learning took place online. However, that doesn't mean we don't need to see increases in formal learning - qualifications can give people currency in the labour market where this is their reason for learning, and our research has shown employer investment in training has fallen 28 per cent since 2005, holding back productivity.

Excerpt from publisher's website. Show less