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This study aims to investigate whether soft-skills trainers and hard-skills trainers have different perspectives regarding their required instructional knowledge and skills.

An online questionnaire was completed by 129 soft-skills trainers and 61 hard-skills trainers. The authors used 14 items covering relevant instructional knowledge and skills based on the training literature.

An exploratory factor analysis identified the following two factors: managing interactions and instructional activities. A multivariate analysis of variance showed significant differences in the assessments of managing interactions (p = 0.00) and instructional activities (p = 0.01) between soft- and hard-skills trainers. The differences in managing interactions were larger than those in instructional activities. The soft-skills trainers showed higher agreement with all items. Most individual items had medium effect sizes. The differing perspectives of soft- and hard-skills trainers are not an effect of different educational backgrounds.

These findings suggest that differences exist in the required instructional knowledge and skills depending on whether trainers teach soft or hard skills. Further research should consider the training content.

Practitioners can ensure that soft-skills trainers meet the respective requirements.

This study is the first to investigate the differences in soft- and hard-skills trainers’ perceptions of instructional requirements.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Soft-skills trainers and hard-skills trainers differed in the variety of instructional methods and in their emphasis on interpersonal relations and interactions, group management and communication. Those trainers with train-the-trainer certificates did not differ significantly from those who did not have them. Trainers with a university degree in educational science/psychology were more likely to teach soft skills than hard skills but did not agree more with the relevance of instructional skills and knowledge than those without such a degree.

The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

The review is based on “Perceived instructional requirements of hard skills trainers and soft skills” by S. Wisshack and S. Hochholdinger, published in Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal.

The aim of this study is to unveil how professional trainers and training managers describe the learning conditions of their workplaces, what informal and formal learning activities they intend to accomplish and what barriers to learning at work they encounter.

Barriers to learning in the workplace fall under individual, team or organizational aspects that hinder the initiation of or interrupt successful learning, delay proceedings or end learning activities much earlier than intended. Professional trainers (N = 16) and training managers (N = 10) participated in this interview study. Their answers were recorded, transcribed and analyzed via qualitative content analysis.

The participants assessed their work tasks as highly complex and balanced between new challenging tasks and routines. Their formal and informal learning activities were also fundamental to maintaining high performance. The trainers described a broad range of situations in which they suffered barriers to learning at their workplace, with most identifying external learning barriers such as vague supervisor requirements or disruptions from others.

The results of this study describe workplace complexity, which offers stimuli for learning through learning conditions, possibilities to engage in learning and also barriers to learning. To understand workplace complexity, all of these dimensions have to be understood and addressed.

Training evaluation is an important part of training programs and evaluating the reactions of trainees is of immense value, but there are few studies on this level of evaluation, as it is a neglected area of research. More so, when trainee reactions to training are poor, human resource managers together with learning and development professionals are able to improve on training programs. Nonetheless, no study has focussed on the aversions of trainees to training, and so this study aims to investigate the aversions of trainees regarding employee training.

This study uses the exploratory research design and obtains data from trainees in an online survey using an open-ended question. Thematic text analyses of the statements of 118 respondents are performed using a two-level coding process.

A total of 15 first-level codes are identified from the texts and categorized into five second-level codes. Further analyses culminate in the identification of two broad themes; trainers’ presentation aversions and organization of training aversions.

Attention must be given to the aversions of trainees in the training evaluation literature. This is because of the considerable amount of information that can be generated and based on that, identify the weaknesses inherent in employee training programs and ultimately improve this critical human resource function within organizations. In attending to the trainee aversions, the least and most reported should be resolved holistically for training objectives to be achieved.

Trainee reaction studies are scarce in the training literature. In addition, most of the existing trainee reaction studies focus on satisfaction while using closed-ended questionnaires. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that focuses on the aversions of trainees and which uses an open-ended question.

In good or bad times, training plays an important part in the development of knowledge and skill in all sectors of the economies around the world. Just as the successful sportsperson must train to keep on winning, so too must any organisation. Whilst the effectiveness of the sportsperson's coach is reflected by success in winning events, it is often more difficult to evaluate the success or effectiveness of the organisational trainer. Many other factors come into play in determining individual and organisational performance — methods of work used; efficient supply of materials; adequate equipment; attitudes of senior management, and of customers; the whims of the market place, government policy and the world economic situation. With so many variables involved it may seem futile to bother to study effectiveness.

The main purpose of this paper is to determine the extent of acquisition of knowledge on social skills and social values by trainers of institutes and coaches of industries in training of trainers (ToT) programmes. It has been ascertained that social skills and social values can and must be taught to apprentices to enhance their employability skills as well as to remove any barriers for upward mobility in their careers.

A four‐day ToT‐cum‐workshop was organized using “hands‐on” experiential outdoor learning activities with lots of interactions, discussions and reflections between participants and participants, and between participants and facilitators. A retrospective post‐ then‐pre‐evaluation design was employed to determine the amount of knowledge acquired by the participants using a four point Likert‐type statements. Using the Handbook of Social Skills and Social Values as a guide, eight core social skills and eight core social values that were relevant to NDTS were identified, emphasized and evaluated in the training programme.

The overall findings indicate that there was about +20 per cent increase in knowledge among the participants on social skills and social values after the training programme. These findings indicate that social skills and social values can be taught when participants show increases in knowledge on all the social skills and social values studied.

Trainers of institutes and coaches of industries can integrate social skills and social values in their technical curriculum to provide apprentices with the foundation of human and social competence required to be an effective workforce to face future challenges and global competition.

This paper provides evidence that social skills and social values can be taught through appropriate teaching/learning techniques as well as providing the right learning environment.

The changing perception of the nature of managerial jobs has had profound implications for management trainers and developers. Some managers′ role has evolved from task managers to people and role player. Trainers can no longer rely solely on provision of the task‐related management training; rather they are expected to become familiar with people, self and career development skills and expertise. The need for positive transfer has placed yet another obligation on management trainers. Nowadays, they are expected to acquire relevant skills and expertise which enable them to empower the trainees to transfer the acquired knowledge skills, values, attitudes and behaviour to the workplace.

The purpose of the paper is to highlight the training factors that mostly affect trainees' perception of learning and training usefulness.

A new research model is proposed exploring the relationships between a trainer's performance, training programme components, outcomes of the learning process and training usefulness. The validity of this model is tested empirically adopting the structural equation modelling approach, using data from 126 employees who have participated in different training programmes.

All the factors that constitute a training programme (trainer performance, training environment and training goals, content, material, process) have been found to affect both learning outcomes and training usefulness.

The long‐term results of a training programme are not examined.

Although all the aspects and components of the training programmes should be carefully considered by the training programme designer, training process and trainer performance have the strongest direct and indirect effect (respectively), on both learning outcomes and training usefulness.

In this study, all the factors that constitute a training programme are incorporated in a single model using data from small and medium‐sized enterprises. Overall, the final model can explain 39 and 60 percent of the variance in learning and training usefulness, respectively.

This paper aims to identify methods of guidance and supervision used in air traffic control training. It also aims to show how these methods facilitate trainee participation in core work activities.

The paper applies the tools of conversation analysis and ethnomethodology to explore the ways in which trainers and trainees act and interact in training situations. The data consist of the video recordings (total 38 hours) and ethnographic material gathered at a vocational institute for aviation and in two aerodrome control tower units.

The trainers used five different instructional strategies with which they guided and controlled the trainees' actions. In simulator training, learning was structured as a process through which the procedural knowledge possessed by the expert controllers was transferred to the trainees through interventions such as orders, test questions and additions. As the trainees progressed to the on‐the‐job training phase, interaction evolved from being trainer‐driven to trainer‐guided. The trainees' performance was fine‐tuned and guided towards local practices of particular work position by means of instructions and information deliveries.

The simulator training and on‐the‐job training appear as two distinctive forms of vocational training with their own aims. In order to improve the quality of the training, it is suggested that greater attention should be given to the ways in which these two separate areas of learning could be better reconciled.

This ethnomethodological study on training interaction complements the understanding of instructional strategies used at different stages of air traffic control training. It is proposed that research into the local and social production of training interaction can shed useful light on the complexities of workplace learning and training interaction, providing a novel perspective for those engaged in practice of vocational education.

Taking a multidimensional perspective, the study aims to identify and examine the factors that are essential for employability. The study pursues to understand the underlying causes that facilitate the development of appropriate skills and attitudes that influence the development of employability in an individual.

The study pursued an exploratory research design followed by a descriptive. It explored the employability factors from the perspectives of the recruiter, student (candidate) and trainer. Additionally, it followed a causal research approach to examine the relationship between factors related to the personal environment, academic system, recruiter’s bias, industry and job attributes and overall employability. The antecedents of employability and their impact were examined with all the constructs taking the recruiter, student and trainer data sets.

The study identifies and analyses the antecedent factors that influence the employability development among college graduates and undergraduates. With its findings, the study identifies the changes or improvements required in teaching and learning mechanisms, grooming students and societal practices, social and economic biases in accessibility to facilities leading to employability. It also calls for a reflection on individual’s own attitude, motivation and abilities. The study calls for an assessment of the education systems and academic quality to develop employability among students. It conjures that the alignment of teacher and learner with industry requirements is an imperative requirement for the expansion of the industry and, in particular, the retail sector.

The study will be of significance to the policymakers and academicians while designing the retail-specific courses and aims toward addressing the mismatch amidst the demand and supply of manpower in the retail industry. The study has been designed to make it highly relevant for the students who are potential manpower to the retail sector as well as the employees who have already entered the industry. It addresses the major factors required for India to develop a cohesive and inclusive ecosystem that provides for the benefit of millions of youths in India.

The literature lacks a coherent meaning and measurement of employability and identifies the need to empirically explore and examine employability skills. Furthermore, the scant empirical research focuses largely on employee or student perspective, even when the role of recruitment in the assessment of employability is most critical. This study empirically evaluates the market from the perspective of students, employees, employers, trainers and academicians and develops a model that gives a holistic picture of the causes that influence the development of employability in an individual.