The effect of the implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies on training in the manufacturing sector

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this article is to gain insight into some of the factors that determine personnel‐training efforts in companies introducing advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs). The study provides empirical evidence from a sector with high rates of technological modernisation.

Design/methodology/approach

Ad hoc survey of 90 firms in the manufacturing sector with advanced manufacturing technologies in production processes.

Findings

Managerial decision to develop training is determined by a factor that is extraneous to the investment in new production technologies, that is to say, recruitment policies. As for the existence of a specific training budget, implementation of AMTs does not appear to determine a company's decision to allocate specific budget items to personnel‐training programmes. It is concluded that training policies are strongly influenced by factors outside the inner context of the organisation.

Research limitations/implications

Similar research could be conducted on informal corporate training, working with additional variables to determine how they affect company training policies. The propositions were tested in a specific industry and area. Further research would be convenient in different regions and sectors.

Originality/value

Contributes to the literature in human resources about the adaptation of human resources strategy to necessary changes in the workplace.

Citation

Diéguez Castrillón, I. and Sinde Cantorna, A.I. (2005), "The effect of the implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies on training in the manufacturing sector", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 268-280. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090590510597124