Training and Development (T&D) in Public Sector Undertakings

 

Introduction

Government sector undertakings can be explained as the organization which provides public services and ownership belongs to the government. In Sri Lanka, Ministries, departments, corporations, courts, and many more can be considered public sector organizations. Training and development in the government sector can be defined as a process of improving skills, knowledge, and attitudes in government employees for the purpose of increasing the effectiveness of their current position and preparing them for future positions. Training & development is very important in both the private and the public sector equally to gain competitive advantage, high profitability, growth of the organization as well as employee retention and satisfaction.

Importance of Training & Development in the Public Sector Undertakings

Most government organizations do not have a profit motive and few have a profit motive and they face a high competition between private sectors. They provide essential services free of charge or at a lower rate. Further public organizations having a profit motive also incur huge losses also problems for the government as well as the general public who pay taxes. There is a significant political influence on these organizations. Recruitment of employees and appointing top management are having an influence on politicians. Due to that, most employees do not have the technical knowledge, soft skills, and competence to perform their selected job. The top management also does not have the leadership skills and abilities to make strategic decisions. Another problem is that the employees with negative attitudes and resistance to change in technology are commonly identified in public undertakings. To overcome all these issues training & development of employees can be considered as one of the good solutions.

According to Kumari and Kumar (2019), training and development are required in public organizations because of the following reasons;

·       To balance work life and personal life to reduce the stress

·       To improve personal and professional life

·       To improve the physical and mental health of employees

·       To improve employee morale, increase productivity, job satisfaction, and commitment toward organizational goals and objectives

·       To improve communication between all levels of management to avoid unnecessary conflicts

Challenges of T&D in the Public Sector Undertakings

Both the private sector and the public sector face a lot of issues when implementing training programs. But government organizations face more challenges than the private sector. According to Babagana and Inuwa (2018), a few challenges are explained below;

·       T&D is considered as a one-time activity instead of a going process

·       Bias or influence over the selection of employees for training

·       Not giving an opportunity to all employees for T&D

·       Budgeting and costing issue

·       Lack of understating the importance of T&D among employees and management

·       Selected training program does not fit with the requirement

·       Due to corruption, not selecting suitable programs

·       T&D is considered only as a method of entertainment

Conclusion

The training and development in the public sector play a vital role in the success of the organization. As discussed above importance of T&D in the public sector is more required than in the private sector. By providing efficient and effective T&D to public sector employees, better policies can be implemented in public, complaints can be reduced, the performance and profitability of the organization can be increased, can be improved job satisfaction. Considering all these T&D in the public sector can be considered a good investment made to benefit not only them but also the general public too (Seidle, Fernandez, and Perry, 2016).

References

Babagana, S. A. and Inuwa, M.L. (2018) Challenges of Training and Development in Public Organisations, Bida Journal of Management and Technology. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329391441_Challenges_of_Training_and_Development_in_Public_Organisations (accessed: 02 May 2022)

Kumari, V. and Kumar, R. (2019) Management of Training and Development in

Public Sector. International Journal of Science and Research, 8(2). Available at: https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v8i2/ART20194928.pdf (accessed: 02 May 2022)

Seidle, B., Fernandez, S. and Perry, J.L. (2016) Do leadership training and development make a difference in the public sector? A panel study. Public administration review, 76(4), pp.603-613. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12531 (accessed: 02 May 2022)




Comments

  1. Rohitha Samarathunge4 May 2022 at 10:43

    Hi, Innovation often results from the ability to utilize existing knowledge and information to generate different combinations and reconfigurations (Cantner, Kristin, & Schmidt, 2008). The training and development investments of an organization create a climate for constant learning that facilitates the exchange of knowledge and ideas among employees, thereby promoting the generation of new knowledge and innovation (Lau & Ngo, 2004)

    ReplyDelete
  2. P.Janaka Chaminda Perera4 May 2022 at 11:17

    Training and development have taken on a strategic role and Are now considered an essential component for organizations a Competitive advantage through superior skills and flexibility The workforce is needed, especially in the current turbulent economic situation Terms Rao (2012).

    Reference
    Rao, D.V. and Kishan, K., 2012. Understanding training and development in public sector undertakings. European Journal of Commerce Management and Research, 1(1), pp.31-35.

    ReplyDelete
  3. maduwanthisilva.blogspot.com5 May 2022 at 03:00

    Training should be conducted in a systematic order to derive expected results. Growing technology in public sector and changing perception of employees make training and development as essential. Modernisation of equipment made it crucial. irrespective of its size or nature private and public both organization need proper training and development process for effective operations.(LBTC, 2019)

    ReplyDelete
  4. sampathJ7 May 2022 at 04:29

    Training and Development has assumed strategic role and is now seen as an essential element for organizations to gain a competitive advantage through a highly skilled and flexible workforce required particularly in today’s turbulent economic conditions. Organizations can also gain high
    productivity and quality performance through T&D policies that are liberal, concept-based, comprehensive, systematic, well planned and dynamic. However, training is not a core competence for many organizations both private and public.

    ReplyDelete

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