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The purpose of this paper is to describe the role of training demand in the organisational changes.

The paper describes the demand of training courses in the Rioja wine sector in Spain and its relation with the changes in the sector carried out in recent years. Through a questionnaire, wineries’ managers asked about the training demand in the sector and change processes. It is proposed, first, the relationship between the demand for training and changes made by companies of Rioja wine in entering new markets and innovation in products and, second, that these changes explain the demand of training in marketing and oenology topics. To confirm the hypotheses, a binary logistic regression analysis was performed.

It was found that the relationship between the demand for training and the processes of change, and that the change processes in companies of Rioja wine sector originate a specific demand for training.

The paper provides a review of the importance of training in changes processes of companies. A critical factor in the change process is the development of workers competencies to cope with the changes in the organisation, but it is also important to develop a culture of change in the organisation.

This paper provides empirical evidence of the relationship between organisational changes and training demands in a key sector from the Rioja Community in Spain.

The UK Government policy for the training and development of its workforce reflects a desire to move towards a more flexible, “demand‐led” system. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the outcomes and impact of two, publicly funded initiatives, designed to stimulate and enhance “demand‐led” training within the UK's small business sector.

The research in this paper is underpinned by an evaluation methodology. However, in respect of each initiative different approaches and methods of data collection were undertaken to reflect the design characteristics of the two initiatives. Qualitative case study analysis is common to both whilst the evaluation of initiative 2 also draws on the particular survey tool selected to help drive this intervention.

The paper finds that initiative 1 led to a limited degree of enhanced training effort. Initiative 2 demonstrated the value of a depth and trusted relationship between trainer and SME owner‐manager. Both, however, highlight tensions within the small business training market place. Both expose fundamental “systemic” weaknesses, which despite the policy rhetoric appear to remain stubbornly in place, undermining this entirely laudable aspect of public policy.

The research in the paper was undertaken in one sub‐region of England. Although the Westminster Government has set the broad trajectory of “demand‐led” training policy its practice is determined through a now largely devolved system. Research is needed which compares the findings from this study with practice in other parts of the UK.

The paper provides evidence‐based insight for both practitioners and policy makers. Indicates the sorts of practice, which, in a context of continuing difficulties and constraints, can help trainers and training intermediaries appropriately enter the world of the small business.

Training evaluation is an elusive concept, especially when it comes to practice. The practice of evaluation in training has received a lot of criticism. This criticism is largely explained by the unsystematic, informal, and ad hoc evaluation that has been conducted by training institutions. In Malaysia, training activities are monitored by the government. Organisations are required to obtain training services from approved training providers registered with the government. Examines the clients’ demand toward evaluation, the commitment given by training providers, and the overall practice of evaluation by the training providers in Malaysia. Finds that the government, client and economic situations have influenced the evaluation practice in a positive direction.

This article traces the experience of countries reforming their vocational education and training policies and summarizes the lessons learned. It is based on a recent joint World Bank‐ILO study focussing on the obstacles to implementing change in vocational education and training systems in response to changing labor markets and innovative approaches to overcoming these constraints in 19 countries worldwide. It tracks the demand‐side pressures and supply‐side responses and highlights some critical issues, constraints and innovations in the reform of these systems. The main messages from this study are: matching instrument to target group is as important as picking the best delivery mode; the government’s role in facilitating the provision of information about vocational education and training has been relatively neglected; a vigorous private response has refuted claims of the reluctance of private providers to enter the field; and political will, not institutional capacity, is the main obstacle to comprehensive reform.

It is agreed that within the UK there is a poor level of investment in formal training and development. This is particularly evident within the small firm sector. The literature, which considers this issue, concludes that there are a number of reasons why small firm owners are, on the whole, reluctant to invest in such training for themselves and their employees. Such reasons include, ignorance of benefits, time issues, fear that training will enhance employee mobility and, critically, that there is little evidence to indicate that investment in training and development leads to enhanced firm performance. On the basis that there has been some debate and empirical investigation regarding why training does not take place, this paper takes an alternative stance and considers what issues and processes might underpin the decision to invest in training ‐ particularly management training. Findings are drawn from empirical research on a sample of firms where investment had been made in such training in the last 24 months; the indications being that such investment was not strategic or proactive but prompted by problems which threatened business performance.

The recent interest in women returning to, or increasing their, labour market participation has largely ignored the skills and aspirations of women themselves. This article is based on a survey of mothers of young children in a fairly prosperous part of the South East of the UK. Research findings indicate that women lack confidence about their ability to return to economic activity, have a high demand for training, and expect to be frustrated in their career aspirations if training is not available. Childcare provision, flexible working hours and training would enable them to increase their participation in work. Constraints operate on the level of entry to the labour market and prevent women achieving their full potential. The discussion considers the forces which can facilitate or impede the full participation and development of women at work: occupational segregation, employer attitudes, the gender bias within organisations, Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs), trade unions and changing labour market demands. The findings indicate important policy directions for employers, trade unions and TECs to utilise this human resource more effectively.

Academia and industry are unlikely partners. The two kinds of organisations differ in fundamental ways that, at first glance, seem to preclude, or certainly hinder, co‐operation. However, the two organisations have increased their co‐operative efforts, especially in the area of training in the past decade. The increase in higher education/industry training partnerships is discussed and some important aspects of that relationship are highlighted.

This paper reviews the literature on training needs analysis with the intention of organising conceptually the various approaches. It offers a way of going beyond simple descriptions to a quantitative approach. A simple yet comprehensive model is proposed which consists of four aspects focusing on four related questions: Who are the key initiators of the TNA studies? What are the levels of interest in the studies (i.e. organization, process, group and individual)? What methods of analysis are used? What is the intended outcome of the analysis? Based on these, four hypotheses are proposed. A literature search produced a total of 118 articles, of which 44 were randomly picked for detailed review. As expected, the literature was dominated by “supply‐led” players, i.e. trainers and academics, but with an unexpectedly strong emphasis on the “demand‐led” aspects of the organisation, especially its business results and growth.

Assesses the implications for tourism organizations, with responsibility for training, of promoting world‐class standards in the delivery of the UK tourism product. Analyses the implications through a detailed assessment of the demand for training by bed and breakfast operators. Examines the motivations of operators, their perceived training requirements and determinants of views on training. Identifies two target segments: a learner segment and a non‐learner segment. Finds that tourism organizations must review the quality of their own product. They must acquire a detailed understanding of their target training markets and tailor their marketing strategy accordingly.

This paper aims to estimate whether human resource (HR) practices influence labour demand dynamics behaviour.

Groups practices in terms of employees satisfaction and work organisation, financial incentives and individual's career perspectives, and explains how they may influence labour productivity and cost. Considering five HR variables, estimates two specifications of labour demand dynamics, under production constrained by demand or monopolistic competition regimes. Applies the two‐step GMM estimator proposed by Blundell and Bond to a balanced panel of 452 Belgian firms observed during the period 1998‐2002.

In the complete monopolistic competition specification, estimates a positive one lag relation explaining labour demand by average training hours combined with an indicator of well‐being of workers, the fact that they are engaged in long term contracts and stay in firms. Some evidence therefore seems to show that some combined HR practices can improve labour demand.

Provides information on whether HR practices influence labour demand dynamics in a Belgian context.